


Of Lights and Waters

by Remmy-Free (Remembrance)



Series: Chrysalis [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternative Universe - Paranormal, Dark Magic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mystery, Mysticism, Near Future, Paranormal, Revealing the Past, Sequel, Slow Build, Supernatural Elements, Witchcraft, Witches, moving forward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 11:14:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 73,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3118118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remembrance/pseuds/Remmy-Free
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> They're safe, the danger is gone, but that's not good enough. Haruka knows too many stones were left unturned, too many questions without answers… too many mysteries unsolved with no hint at the right direction. As distortions appear through the world and his duty requires more and more of him, Haruka's mind verges on breaking and his spirit is steeped in solitude. Barely hanging on to his crumbling relationship, he's in no shape to do what he's about to do. Not even Makoto knows if he can save him now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blue of Glass

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! The Sequel to Of Fire and Mind (and yes you have to read OFM to understand what's going on) which I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2014. I spent December editing it, and here it is! The update schedule is every Wednesday and Saturday... given I might be late here and there (like I am now, it's Sunday, LOL) but yeah. I'll do my best! 
> 
> **Hold up, though!** I've gotten several fanarts! Nikooki has drawn me three pics, [one of Nitori in shrine clothes (1)](http://nikooki.tumblr.com/post/97301040954/psst-ur-cute), [one of Nitori during the heavy ritual (2)](http://nikooki.tumblr.com/post/103043619478/of-fire-and-mind-by-remembrance123-doodles), and one of [Rin with his serpent dragon! (3)](http://nikooki.tumblr.com/post/102242324578/i-recently-read-of-fire-and-mind-by). Please support them with likes and reblogs and maybe even follows!
> 
>  **Hold up, #2!** Seanpurrs wrote an [adorable drabble](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2348396/chapters/5179418) about Haruka and the kittens! Please support them with kudos and comments!
> 
> But, now, back to the story at hand! OFM had a very eastern influence to a lot of the setting choices and tales, so I decided to do something a bit different with this one. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!
> 
> * * *

  
  
  
 He stood at the altar, at the crux of the temple. The temple had benches aligned in rows, a red carpet laid the long path down to the altar where he stood. A necklace hung around his neck—a leather cord holding a bone over his chest. The bone was carved to resemble a feather, and in that feather was… He looked up, up to the glass above. He closed his eyes, swallowing hard, before opening it again. He whispered the name of one long time-lost: “Nagisa.”  
   
 Above, on the wall, the sun’s light filtered through five stained glass paintings.  
   
 In a place where reality was not what it seemed – in the realm of psions – three were a blur, and two defined.  
   
 Of the ones defined, his eyes always fell on the yellow one.  
   
 The image depicted a blond with pink eyes visible from the waist up, hand over his heart, being burned alive by black fires.  
   
 A person he once knew, in another reality.  
   
 After all, this man was the one who built the doors that held the Sorrow Gale back.  
   
 There was an old tale he had heard about, of five… one for each painting.  
   
 The man touched his necklace and it twitched. The beast dwelling inside the bone did not want to be bothered at this time, not by any witch, and most certainly not by him.  
   
 He held the image of all existence in his mind.  
   
 Intent.  
   
 He added the details, focusing on the glass and the end.  
   
 Focus.  
   
 He stayed still for several moments before he raised his hands to the stained glass, beginning the ritual with his Will. The walls disappeared. Replacing the glass was the universe, stars whirling through creation—the temple began to fade and ‘reality’ was distorted. The stars and planets replaced time and the cosmos replaced space. When the man waved his hands, the world around him would move. When he looked a different direction, comets would align themselves to be in his sight. There was a time he thought himself a conductor, while the universe was his musicians, ready to sing their hymns at his every command.  
   
 But in actually, the roles were reversed.  
   
 The musicians would only play one song, and that was the song they wanted to play.  
   
 “Why?” he whispered as his hands turned to fists. “Why won’t you speak to me?” His hands opened up and the stars disappeared. The temple restructured itself and he closed his eyes, glancing down to his feet. “What am I supposed to do now? Give me guidance… please. Please, don’t leave us alone here…”  
   
 The large double doors at the other end of the cathedral opened.  
   
 Light, from the second sun, poured into the temple, making the warm orange glow of candles useless.  
   
 A second man stood in, heavy boots hiding no sound in his footsteps. “Kisumi.”  
   
 The man at the altar raised his head, glancing over his shoulder. “Yes?” He forced a smile. “Sparing your last few moments with me?”  
   
 “Chiyo Hazuki is dead,” said the second man. “And I don’t mean she died… we both know that old hag croaked years ago.”  
   
 “Yes.” Kisumi closed his eyes. “Thanks to someone.”  
   
 “Hm.” Unlike Kisumi, who had a lithe body, slim and agile, this man was larger, shoulders broad and arms strong. He walked through the aisles, one step at a time. “She willingly chose to move on to the next life.”  
   
 “Seijuro…”  
   
 “The stars won’t speak to you, huh?”  
   
 Kisumi shook his head. “But if I can’t make them speak to me… this place…”  
   
 “Yeah.” Seijuro paused halfway down the red carpet. “The distortion will break.”  
   
 “Then…”  
   
 “Kis’?”  
   
 Kisumi turned around. He grabbed his necklace, squeezing it tight for the small comfort the winged creature brought him. “We have to find the origin. Only when he sings the hymn will this place stand again.”  
   
 “Tsk.” Seijuro rubbed his neck. “The… what do they call it, Saviour?”  
   
 “Legends always use dramatic words,” Kisumi muttered. “But we have to find him. That is our only chance.”  
   
 “And how the fuck are we going to do that? We’re stuck here.”  
   
 Kisumi glanced to his hand, to the wedding band on his ring finger. “We’ll pull through. We’ll find a way.”  
   
 “If you say so.”  
   
 “Trust in your elders, kid. We have to.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
  _After the tunnel of whirling spirit essence, Rin stepped out of the portal. Sand crunched beneath his feet and he heard the rush of ocean waves. He looked along the beach and sighed. It was the one reason he never came over. He shook his head, shaking those thoughts away. “Oy, Haru. Politics… I hate politics. You know what I like about witching?” He walked up to the wooden house. “Rituals, insight, herbs, mixing reagents… I don’t like any of this fighting big monsters. I want to talk to spirits, learn new spells, not fucking… this.”  
    
 Haruka walked up the wooden steps and unlocked the door. “Welcome to my world.”_  
   
   
 Haruka snuggled deeper into the sheets. Despite his alarm going off, he curled in the fetal position and shivered. Why was it so cold? It was the middle of summer. He peeked one eye open and noticed the room was dark. The sun always shone through the window every morning, so… He heard the soft sound of rain and smiled. As much as he hated standing in rain, rain always made the island smell… clean. Nice. He glanced to Makoto’s side of the bed and found it empty.  
   
 He reached out.  
   
 His hand ran over the area to find it warm.  
   
 Makoto must have just gotten up.  
   
 He closed his eyes and took in the scent of Makot—  
   
 Coffee.  
   
 He could smell coffee.  
   
 Haruka lifted his upper body up and grabbed his phone, silencing the alarm. He could hear noises in the kitchen and he sighed. “He’s perfect.” After a silent stretch, Haruka forced himself out of bed. He slipped off his boxers and walked to the bathroom. Putting his hand against the tiled wall, the shower at the end of the room began spraying hot water. He preferred baths, but he didn’t have time. He opened the glass shower door and stepped in. He dunked his head under the hot water, letting it pour over his aching muscles.  
   
 Blue eyes closed.  
   
 He breathed in the steam. After scrubbing with soap and lathering with shampoo and conditioner, and rinsing of course, he twisted the knob, turning off the running water. When he opened the foggy shower door again, he paused.  
   
 “Here.” Makoto smiled, offering a folded green towel.  
   
 Haruka blinked before taking it. It was nice and warm. He leaned over and kissed Makoto’s cheek. “Thanks.”  
   
 “Breakfast will be ready soon,” Makoto practically sang as he left the room.  
   
 Haruka let the smallest of smiles form on his lips as he dried off. He glanced at himself in the mirror. His hair was a decent length again. Just a month ago Makoto had harped on him to get a haircut after it went down to his shoulders, but then the hairdresser cut it a touch too short. It finally grew to a good length again.  
   
 If only he had forever to think about trivial things.  
   
 He stepped back into the bedroom and grabbed a clean pair of blue boxers. Slipping those on, he then wore a thin black shirt, followed by formal pants. After another layer or two, he grabbed the Iris’ mantle and whirled it over his shoulders. He glanced at the mirror in their bedroom and noted he looked the same as always. He stared at his reflection, thinking he caught a glimpse of something blue and glossy, but nothing he could identify.  
   
 Whatever.  
   
 He stepped out of the room and walked to the kitchen table.  
   
 Makoto had laid out two steaming plates of eggs (sunny-side up), turkey bacon, toast, with a little bowl of fruits, and another bowl of fat-free Greek yogurt.  
   
 Haruka didn’t know anyone in the world who would put that much effort at six in the morning, especially since Makoto could be sleeping in. Haru took his seat, grabbing the fork and knife. “Thank you.”  
   
 Makoto hummed happily, grabbing a fresh pot of coffee and pouring two cups. He added a bit of milk for Haru, and a lot for himself (as well as heaping spoonfuls of organic white sugar). Putting the two mugs down on the table, he sat as well and they ate in silence.  
   
 When Haru finished his plate, he chugged his coffee and got up. “Thanks.”  
   
 “More than welcome!” Makoto, not done his plate yet, abandoned it as he bounced to his feet. He grabbed Haruka’s travel mug and poured coffee in it. Flicking the little rune at the bottom that would keep it warm, he added some milk and stirred. “For the road. Or portal. Same thing.”  
   
 Haruka smiled as he took it. He didn’t know what to say, other than thanking him again, but that was the nice thing about Makoto. Sometimes Haru didn’t have to say anything, because Makoto just… knew.  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 The International Representative Inner Sector.  
   
 Iris.  
   
 The seven semi-circles had a slanted desk-like area where Haruka unloaded his few papers. Now, everything was digitalised, so there wasn’t much use for it, other than special occasions. When the other councillors quit their chatter, he cleared his throat. “Today is our biweekly meeting concerning the Psion case. It’s been a total of three months and two weeks since Kou Matsuoka has been placed under the mentorship of Aiichiro Nitori. Let’s keep this short.”  
   
 The councillors all nodded.  
   
 Good.  
   
 Maybe today wouldn’t be shit.  
   
 “There has been no major progressive change since our last meeting. The ‘recovery’ seems to be on a steady incline. I do, however, wish to raise a concern: I believe Matsuoka is… limited, in her social interactions, for the stage she is at. It has been a big change for her, and although moments of unsteadiness have occurred, it’s important we keep pushing her in gentle, steady amounts to improve. I believe we should ask Nitori to… take her out, more often. In public places, with and without witches.”  
   
 “Question,” the first councillor called out. “We’ve come to trust your judgement best on this case, Highlord.” Diplomatic lie. “But why… this?”  
   
 “Our end goal is to have Matsuoka become a member of humanity after years of necessary isolation,” Haruka reminded them. “In the past few months, she’s dealt with over twenty people… however, over these months, it has been the same twenty people, some of which she knew beforehand. We’ve tested her abilities, slowly, and carefully, to help her cooperate with other humans; now, slowly, and carefully, we must test her abilities to deal with the mass of humanity.”  
   
 “Iris,” the high voice of the fifth councillor held worry, “I trust you will emphasise to Aiichiro Nitori that his must be done with _supreme_ care.”  
   
 “Truth be told, Councillor, I doubt he needs to be told such a thing, but I plan on telling him nonetheless. I will write a report including a timetable of what I believe is the best course of action. I shall send it to you all for critique and confirmation. Is anyone opposed or uncertain of the proposal being placed?” No response. “Excellent. Let’s move on.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka hated playing councillor. It involved too much talking. It wasn’t that he didn’t like talking… He remembered Makoto telling him once about some theory that thought was just internal dialogue with himself; Haruka stopped paying attention after the evidence for the theory had Makoto talking for over half an hour, although he did mostly stare at his… boyfriend? Partner? They never agreed on a term. But Haruka started at Makoto for the whole time.  
   
 Makoto did that.  
   
 Haruka, while hating having to listen to it, loved seeing the way Makoto got animated, talking about what he read.  
   
 Makoto always read.  
   
 While other witches wanted to learn how to perform rituals or cast spells, Makoto wanted to read more books. When Rin and Ai told them the truth about calling Chiyo Hazuki from the dead—Makoto screamed because Makoto (being the huge history nerd he was) had the biggest history boner for the elder Hazuki ever. He almost cried when Rin kinda just went, _“Eh?”_ and was surprised that name was supposed to mean something.  
   
  _“You got to meet my idol!” Makoto gasped and then squeed so loud nobody would believe he was nearing thirty. “She’s so cool!”_  
   
 Haruka snorted at the memory and kept walking down the hall. He didn’t know what he was thinking about or why. All he knew was he had a meeting soon and he wanted to get there as fast as he could so he did not have to talk to a single soul on the way there.  
   
 “Grumpy wumpy!”  
   
 Haruka paused mid-step. That voice. He glanced over his shoulder.  
   
 A blond wearing a black hoodie, dark navy jeans, and a pink beanie had his hands on his hips, sticking his tongue out.  
   
 “Nagisa!” Rei, dressed in his business suit as always, gasped as he ran up to him. “I apologise for his behavior!” He bowed.  
   
 Haruka stared for a moment before he turned to them. “It’s fine.”  
   
 “Yeah, Rei!” Nagisa grinned. “Friends don’t have to apologise to friends!”  
   
 Rei scoffed. “Well Haruka seemed busy…”  
   
 “I…” Haruka sighed. “Am.”  
   
 “Awww.” Nagisa pouted.  
   
 Haruka glanced to his wrist where his bracelet displayed a digital clock in Nexus Standard Time. “I have a few minutes. Are you here for a check-up?”  
   
 “Mhm! Just finished.” Nagisa bounced once. “I’m all good!”  
   
 Rei adjusted his glasses. “We’ve yet still to make any progress on his witching abilities, and the reason is, quite… unknown.”  
   
 Haruka didn’t let his frown show. “None?”  
   
 “Basic sensing,” Nagisa punctuated his words with an annoyed sigh. “That’s all.”  
   
 Haruka saw the angst swirling in Nagisa’s pink eyes. A witch without the ability to witch… to have that aspect of his life torn from him… “It’s okay.”  
   
 “It’s not okay!” Nagisa yelled louder than he should have; and, by the embarrassed look on his face, louder than he wanted to. “Sorry.”  
   
 Haruka forced a smile. “Take it easy.”  
   
 “But…”  
   
 “I’m…” Haruka began, but didn’t know where to go with that. Nagisa was looking at him expectantly, so he forced himself to go on. “I’m just… It’s… good, to have you back.”  
   
 Nagisa’s eyes softened. “You guys…”  
   
 Rei smiled.  
   
 “Makoto…” Haruka scratched his cheek. “Makoto asks me sometimes, if you’re really back… It’s, hard… to believe.”  
   
 Nagisa stayed silent.  
   
 Rei laughed in a carefree way that was unlike him, but in a good way. “I admit it… it’s been close to three months Nagisa and I have been sharing a bed… and yet, I still wake up in the middle of the night just to make sure he’s, he’s there. He’s really in my arms.”  
   
 Nagisa’s eyes widened, and with the light they shined. He wasn’t even halfway to crying, but he knew it wouldn’t take long if they kept on this topic. “I’m sorry.” He looked down.  
   
 Haruka smiled. “Don’t be. I’m here because of you.”  
   
 “Nagisa.” Rei put an arm around his waist. “Everything worked out, did it not?”  
   
 “Yeah, it did.” Nagisa nodded, smile returning.  
   
 Haruka’s smile grew. “How are the others? Rin?”  
   
 “He’s good!” Nagisa chuckled. “Though he and Ai need to _keep it down_ , if you know what I mean! Our rooms are right next to each other and… I swear if I keep hearing them going at it I’m going to make it a competition!”  
   
 Rei gasped, jumping away from his boyfriend. “Nagisa!”  
   
 Nagisa flashed a dangerous, bright smile.  
   
 Haruka let out a silent chuckle. “Momo?”  
   
 “Also good!” Nagisa put his hands behind his back. “Trying to help him with his boyfriend issues, though.”  
   
 Haruka cocked his head. “Issues?”  
   
 “Well, not issues-issues, I just want them to smooch already!”  
   
 Rei frowned. “Let them move at their own pace.”  
   
 “Fine!” Nagisa stuck his tongue out. “Oh! We were supposed to get Momo’s prescription—ack, we missed Sensei…”  
   
 “I could have it delivered,” Haruka muttered. “The ones for his disability?”  
   
 “Yes,” Rei answered. “That would be wonderful, if it’s not a problem that is.”  
   
 Haruka shook his head. “How are his studies? Still getting good grades?”  
   
 “Above average by far!” Rei said proudly. “Naturally, as he has a wonderful tutor who has designed an intense studying regiment calculated and analysed based on his individual elements of self!”  
   
 Nagisa _could_ have pointed out how Sousuke spent more time tutoring Momo than Rei, but he decided against it. “He’s got his work cut out for him, though. Finals are coming, since it’s almost winter break for him.”  
   
 “Winter?” Haruka paused. “Oh. Right. Hemispheres. How are the cats?”  
   
 “All good,” Rei said with a smile. “Regular vet check-ups. All are very healthy and fit.”  
   
 “Thank you for taking care of them.” Haruka nodded. “Makoto would be happy.”  
   
 “Actually that’s also Momo.” Nagisa laughed. “Sousuke too, since he knows if one of them gets sick Momo will have another freak out. He screamed into the night when Red Tail caught a little cold.”  
   
 “What about you, Haruka? How have you been?”  
   
 “I’ve been…” Haruka’s smile was forced and lopsided. “Tired. Festival preparations are beginning.”  
   
 “Festival.” Rei’s eyes lit up. “For the New Year? Is that what it’s for?”  
   
 “Nope!” Nagisa smiled. “The Festival is for fried food and games!”  
   
 Haruka ignored him. “The Nexus Reversal happens mid-January, so this festival clumps up New Years and the Reversal in one.”  
   
 “Ah yes.” Rei nodded. “Interesting, I wouldn’t have thought The Eye would have many festivals.”  
   
 “Few,” Nagisa admitted. “It’s gotta be both international and have like… no religious connotations or whatever.”  
   
 “I see.” Rei put his hand to his chin. “This is quite insightful.”  
   
  _Click._  
   
 Haruka glanced to his bracelet. “That’s all the time I can spare… Sorry. It… was nice seeing you again.”  
   
 “Yeah!” Nagisa grinned. “It’s almost been a whole month, Haru-chan!” It was an exaggeration, but he was Nagisa and everything was an exaggeration. “Stop by the shrine anytime you want.”  
   
 “If I’m not tired,” muttered Haruka.  
   
 “Sleep at the shrine anytime you want!”  
   
 “Thank you for the offer.” Haruka reached over and flicked Nagisa’s nose.  
   
 “Ouch!” Nagisa pouted. “Hey!”  
   
 Rei hooked an arm around his boyfriend. “Good luck with the rest of today, Nanase.”  
   
 Haruka dipped his head in respect. “Thank you.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “So Momo’s screaming and Captain-chan starts panicking and Ai-chan starts screaming because everyone else is screaming, and of course I still playing with my charm, because it’s funny as fuck!”  
   
 Makoto winced. “Oh no…”  
   
 Rei sighed. “I turn my back on him for one moment…”  
   
 “Shh!” Nagisa nudged him. “I’m telling the story!”  
   
 They were at the café on the ground floor of the central nerve. Makoto was wearing casual clothes as he had stepped into the VIP lounge… and that was when he saw (or rather _heard_ ) Rei trying to stop Nagisa from making too much noise. They sat at the circular table with the round sofa.  
   
 “And Rin-chan, you know Rin-chan.” Nagisa rolled his eyes dramatically. “He’s like okay let’s do a quick ritual so he does something and he just yanks me out of the closet I was hiding in, so I just play along and start screaming with Momo-chan and Ai-chan and then Sou-chan starts screaming too! And Rin’s convinced he screwed up the ritual!”  
   
 The waitress walked over, putting down three lattes, but only two of them were strawberry.  
   
 “Rei,” Nagisa whined, betrayal in his eyes.  
   
 Rei said nothing as he sipped his regular latte. Caffeine. The only thing that could help him keep up with Nagisa.  
   
 “Thank you,” Makoto said to the waitress before he took his own mug.  
   
 “Rei.” Nagisa’s eyes watered.  
   
 “Tell your story,” Rei muttered.  
   
 “Oh!” Nagisa bounced. “Right! So, so, so!”  
   
 Makoto laughed.  
   
 “Everyone’s screaming and Rin’s in battle mode! So he’s like, let’s do some forbidden ritual! And everyone starts saying yeah! Let’s do something dangerous and I’m just standing there like _shit!_ I don’t want to get caught, but I don’t want them all dead either, right?”  
   
 “Yeah.” Makoto sipped his strawberry and sakura latte. “I could see how those two would be equally as bad.”  
   
 “So I just yelled that it was Rei-chan!”  
   
 Rei sighed deeper than any ocean.  
   
 “So when we all went to Rei’s office, I pulled out the Halloween hex wand and I was like it was totally Rei!”  
   
 Makoto winced. “Did they believe it?”  
   
 “They did,” Rei answered.  
   
 “Oh no…”  
   
 “Hey!” Nagisa whined. “It’s not like I screwed him over, so I said, you know guys we bought this mid-October, so the spirit essence probably went through a couple half-lives, then malfunctioned!”  
   
 Makoto smiled. “Quick thinking.”  
   
 Rei scowled. “I do not see why he did not think of such a thing before blaming his partner!”  
   
 Nagisa winced, closed one eye, and grinned. “Aha!”  
   
 Makoto smiled nonetheless. “I’m glad you guys are doing well. Haru’s been so busy lately, but we’re honestly trying to make time to see everyone.”  
   
 “Just whenever!” Nagisa insisted.  
   
 “Indeed,” Rei agreed. “Feel free to drop by unannounced.”  
   
 “Mmm, yeah.” Nagisa sighed. “I feel so cooped up in that shrine.”  
   
 Makoto blinked. “Are you?”  
   
 “Nah… it’s just all snowy and everyone’s doing something all the time. Sousuke’s being assigned on missions, Momo’s studying, and nobody’s going to walk a couple kilometers in the snow to buy shrine charms so I’m just by myself all the time, you know?”  
   
 “I do,” Makoto admitted. “I’m the housewife, after all.”  
   
 Rei leaned forward. “And what do you do to alleviate boredom? Nagisa needs help in that department.”  
   
 “Rei-chan!” Nagisa threw himself over Rei’s lap. “If you don’t like my surprise blowjobs, just say it!”  
   
 “Nagisa!” Rei covered his mouth.  
   
 Makoto laughed, choosing to have not heard that. “I usually just volunteer at the Guardian Wing.”  
   
 “Hn…” Nagisa sat up again and looked at his hand. “If only I could restore.”  
   
 “You don’t have to use spirit arts,” Makoto reminded. “Even helping with bandages or lending a hand for physio could be a great help. Sensei always gives me something to do… after all, there’s been a stark increase in wounded lately.”  
   
 Nagisa looked down. “Yeah, I wish I could lend a hand in that fight, but… Well, I can still help at the Guardian Wing!”  
   
 “Please,” Rei muttered dryly.  
   
 Nagisa pouted at him.  
   
 Rei suppressed his smile as he yanked off Nagisa’s favourite beanie.  
   
 “Hey!”  
   
 Rei ruffled his hair.  
   
 Nagisa laughed and tackle-hugged his boyfriend, nuzzling into Rei’s chest.  
   
 Rei put an arm around Nagisa’s waist and finally let himself smile.  
   
 “You two are adorable.”  
   
 Nagisa looked at him and smiled. “So, Mako-chan, how’s the sex life?”  
   
 Makoto blinked. “Um…”  
   
 Rei was done. He didn’t even bother doing anything at the point.  
   
 Makoto was alone. “That’s, personal.”  
   
 “Personal?” Nagisa grinned. “More like pers-anal!”  
   
 “We should head back,” Rei muttered.  
   
 Makoto welcomed the change of topic. “You’re taking Gou, aren’t you?”  
   
 Nagisa nodded. “Yup!”  
   
 “I’ll walk you there. I know both of you have your own access cards to get to the top floor, but, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”  
   
 “She would be delighted to see you,” Rei said with a smile. “The more the merrier.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka sipped the tea. It was a white tea. While usually delicate and smooth, this white tea had a robust flavour, stronger, and it had hints of goji berries, strawberry leaves, and hibiscus—giving it a ruby-red colour. The tea cups were actually tea bowls. White in colour, they had no handles and had a wider top; they also had the light blue and green ribbon-like pattern along the exterior. The bowl was wonderfully warm for his fingers and he sipped it, enjoying the bitterness of the blend. He placed his mug down and looked across the low table. “I’ve already explained to Aiichiro to take it slowly. I have no intention of rushing you.”  
   
 She nodded.  
   
 “Are you… alright with this?”  
   
 “Honestly…” Gou’s lips tugged to a smile. “More than anything.” She saw the surprise light up Haru’s feature—it was faint, but anyone who had known him as long as she had could see it: the little widening of his eyes, rise of the forehead, twitch of the eyebrow… It took years of expertise to catch them. “I know it’s a sore spot, for both of us… but, do you… do you remember how our parents talked of travel?”  
   
 Haruka thought about it, but… A twitch of pain in his left eye.  
   
 “Haru?”  
   
 “Sorry.” Haruka blinked. “Haven’t been resting enough. I think I do… They said we would go somewhere together, one day. Your family and mine. Right?”  
   
 “Mhm!” Gou grinned. “Travel was!—I… I gave up on that, when I found out I was a psion…”  
   
 Haruka could connect dots. “It will be possible in the near future, if this goes smoothly.”  
   
 Gou grinned. “That would be nice.”  
   
 The door opened.  
   
 They both turned.  
   
 “Gou-chan!”  
   
 “Kou!” she corrected.  
   
 “Yeah, yeah, whatever!” Nagisa glanced to the side. “Haru-chan!” He tackled him.  
   
 Haruka frowned, but didn’t fight against it. He’d never admit it, but when Nagisa glomped him he kind of enjoyed it. He feared Nagisa knew that already, though.  
   
 “Apologies,” Rei called out.  
   
 Makoto scratched the back of his head. “We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”  
   
 When Nagisa let him go, Haruka shook his head. “No, we’re done. Just making small talk.”  
   
 “The usual summary,” Gou added, “Of the council meeting.”  
   
 Nagisa broke away and grabbed Haruka’s tea bowl, chugging the drink in one go.  
   
 Haruka knew better than to fight it.  
   
 Rei put his hands at his side. “If you’re ready to go, Kou, we can leave whenever you want.”  
   
 Nagisa put the mug down. “No rush though!”  
   
 Gou’s smile only grew as she stood. “I’m ready.”  
   
 Makoto, seeing Gou smile, couldn’t help but smile as well. “I think I’ll come too, check on the cats and all.”  
   
 Nagisa grinned. “Really? Really really?”  
   
 Gou’s smile grew even wider.  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Just for a bit. Haru?”  
   
 Haruka looked at him.  
   
 Makoto could see the sadness swirling in those blue eyes.  
   
 “I can’t,” he muttered. “Sorry.”  
   
 Nagisa nudged him. “Another time, then!”  
   
 Rei nodded. “You are welcome whenever!”  
   
 Haruka got up as well. “I’ll walk you to the portal at least.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka returned to their wooden home on the beach within fifteen minutes. He forced his feet up the wooden steps and pushed the door open. It was unlocked. Not surprising. They barely locked the door since no one could come to the island without their permission. He checked the kittens’ bowls, making sure both Salmon and Tuna had food and water, before he walked through the living room to the kitchen, and then to the hallway, and to the bedroom.  
   
 It was a blur, really.  
   
 He pushed the mantle off of him and hit the floor in its usual clang. He rubbed his shoulder and sighed.  
   
 He had technically lied.  
   
 It wasn’t that he couldn’t. He had nothing for the rest of the day, but, he, just…  
   
 He walked into the bathroom.  
   
 He needed to rest, needed to unwind, needed time alone.  
   
 Haru knew Makoto would understand.  
   
 He began preparing a bath, adding ginseng leaves and sage. He moved his hand above the surface of the bath and the water whirled at his command. The herbs infused the water. Haruka stripped, layer by layer, until he was nude. He stepped into the bath and took a seat. He breathed in the steam, feeling it open his lungs, before he stretched his legs.  
   
 He closed his eyes and moved his head back, sinking under the water.  
   
 There was a time he had to chant the incantation, but the ritual was so very second-nature to him that it took no effort.  
   
 Slits appeared on his cheeks.  
   
 Gills.  
   
 He breathed through the water and opened his eyes.  
   
 He stared up at the surface of the water, seeing the white ceiling above it. Light shimmered along the surface. It was bright. Haruka winced, tilting his head to look away. The surface of the water expanded, beyond the bath.  
   
 He felt like he was in the ocean, staring at the surface of an endless expanse of blue water.  
   
 Confusion pooled in his stomach, twisting his gut.  
   
 His arms were no longer confined. He felt like he could stretch forever.  
   
 The surface of the water was bright… but it was no longer moving.  
   
 It was hard.  
   
 Crystallised.  
   
 Glass.  
   
  _‘What?’_ Haruka’s eyes widened. There was a blue image above him. It was an image, made of stained glass. He knew it was something, but even by staring at it, he didn’t know what it was. It was as if his mind had blocked him from understanding.  
   
 He looked left to see no bathtub, but a void of darkness. He looked right to see the same thing.  
   
 He looked back to the multicolour glass, and his heart almost stopped.  
   
 He saw himself.  
   
 The stained glass was an image of Haruka, hand holding one of his guns over his heart, and chains wrapping around his neck like a necklace.  
   
 Haruka reached a hand forward, feeling himself drift towards the glass. When the distance was crossed, he stood before the glowing coloured glass. A moment of hesitation, but he reached for it. When his finger touched the smooth crystalline… “Ngh!” Haruka couldn’t breathe. He winced—electric pain snapping in his brain.  
   
 He broke the surface of the water, heaving for air.  
   
 “Haru!”  
   
 Haruka coughed and looked down to see the bathtub. His eyes wide, he was shaking uncontrollably.  
   
 “Haru!”  
   
 Haruka turned, seeing Makoto’s big green eyes filled with worry, flickering slightly. His breathing calmed and he closed his eyes, nodding.  
   
 Makoto swallowed hard. “Are you… okay?”  
   
 Haruka looked at his hands, noticing the skin had pruned in the water. “How… long have I been…?” He coughed. “Yeah. Fine.”  
   
 Makoto’s worry wouldn’t leave.  
   
 Haruka knew it wouldn’t. “I’m fine.”  
   
 “You… had this look on your face, Haru…”  
   
 The gills faded from Haruka’s cheeks. “I think… I fell asleep.”  
   
 “Underwater?” Makoto blinked. “Your eyes were open for a long time then.”  
   
 “Can’t dry out, underwater. Right?”  
   
 “That… actually makes sense. I think.” Makoto forced a smile. “Bad dream?”  
   
 “Very.”  
   
 “Well, you know you’re not supposed to open your eyes if your body’s asleep.”  
   
 Haruka blinked. “What?”  
   
 “Well, they say when you have sleep paralysis, if you open your eyes, you’ll see distorted images and stuff.”  
   
 “Oh.” Haruka sighed. “So… that’s what that was.”  
   
 Makoto stood up and grabbed a towel. “Why don’t you get out of here, dry off, and sleep in a real bed, Haru-chan?” He offered his free hand.  
   
 “Drop the ‘-chan’,” Haruka whined as he took the hand. “Hm. I passed out in a bath.”  
   
 “That’s a sign of sleep deprivation,” Makoto said as he offered the towel.  
   
 “Stop throwing terminology at me.” Haruka took the towel. “You textbook.”  
   
 “That’s what I’m good at, though.”  
   
 Haruka kissed his cheek.  
   
 Makoto smiled. “You okay, though?”  
   
 “Just a hallucination, or whatever.” Haruka smiled. “It felt real, though.”  
   
 “It wasn’t.” Makoto tapped his temple. “That’s the impressive part of our minds, though. They can make anything feel like reality.”  
   
 “Maybe that’s why psions are so powerful,” Haruka muttered. “They manipulate something strong.”  
   
 “Mhm.” Makoto took a step back. “But! Enough thinking for tonight, okay? I’ll make you some sleeping tea, but you head to bed early tonight.”  
   
 Haruka knew better than to fight him on that. “Sure.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 In another time, another space, another reality, Kisumi stood at the Altar of Stars, looking up in hopes that the Sanctum of Stars, and by extension the Core of Stars, would speak to him. With a snap of light, something appeared above. Kisumi looked up.  
   
 There, on the stained glass…  
   
 Kisumi frowned.  
   
 One of the stained glass paintings, blue, came into existence. An image of a man with a gun in his hand, and a hand over his heart, chains pooling under his chin like a necklace, but Kisumi did not know what role he had to play in the oldest legend known to witches…


	2. Blue of Orange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way! If you see any mistakes, just let me know. I make myself read through these chapters 4-5 times each, but I am dyslexic, so it does make it harder to catch them. But, anyway. Here's Chapter Two. Enjoy.
> 
> * * *

 Haruka opened his eyes to find himself underwater. The water, itself, was clear blue, but above him was a cloud of black fog, lined with etchings of white fire. Haruka stared up at the being – and, somehow, Haruka knew it was living – He tried to understand what it was. But… A flash of darkness. _What?_ His eyes narrowed. He noticed the black cloud began to condense at one point.  
   
 The cloud shot out a stream of black liquid.  
   
 Haruka dodged, shifting to the side in an automatic reaction. He reached for his guns, but paused. They were gone. Not only that, but he wasn’t wearing any clothes.  
   
 A tentacle swiped horizontally.  
   
 Haruka dove down, dodging it with ease. He swam to the side and held out his hand. Water began to convulse into a single shimmer of blue light. Condensing the fluid into a large sphere, Haruka growled as he tossed it forward.  
   
 The spell exploded against the cloud.  
   
 Haruka’s eyes widened.  
   
 The cloud was screaming, crying…  
   
 “Nice shot.”  
   
 Haruka glanced to the side. “Rin?”  
   
 Rin was standing in a park, dressed in his usual street clothes.  
   
 Haruka remembered his nudity but looked down to see he was wearing the school uniform he wore in elementary school. “What?”  
   
 Rin turned away from him and glanced up to the cherry blossom above.  
   
 Gou stood next to him, clutching her hands together over her chest.  
   
 Haruka reached for them, but they appeared farther and farther—until Haruka crashed against a chair. He closed his eyes, and opened them to find a new setting. A hallway. Sitting next to him was Makoto, younger and eyes red from tears.  
   
 “H-Haru…”  
   
 Haruka looked up.  
   
 Makoto’s mother stepped out of the office and kneeled down to be on eye level with him.  
   
 No.  
   
  _This._  
   
 He knew _this._  
   
 Haruka swallowed hard.  
   
  _Not this…_  
   
 “Haru-chan,” she spoke softly, trying to keep the floodgates on her emotions sealed. “You’re going to be living with us from now on, okay?”  
   
 Haruka closed his eyes and he felt himself floating. Drifting. Moving. When his feet touched the ground again, he opened his eyes. The rain poured over them, clouds were crying. He remembered that thought. The clouds were crying so they hid the fact that Haruka wasn’t. Two funerals, back to back. Haruka’s parents had been buried together in the same coffin, while Rin and Gou’s parents were buried side by side. He had heard voices of ‘the three families’ but he didn’t know why that was. There were only two families.  
   
 For whatever reason, he remembered that Rin’s mother had no relatives come to her funeral.  
   
 Rin cried, next to him.  
   
 Gou was sobbing.  
   
 Haruka couldn’t cry. Even Makoto cried, Makoto cried and needed to hold his hand. Haru let him hold his hand, but he didn’t know why.  
   
 The memories faded.  
   
 Haruka was once again in the waters, but the waters were dark waters. They tightened around his throat, choking him – choking him like a fetus in a miscarriage, choking on bad blood. Haruka closed his eyes, giving up, letting them take him…  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Steam rose from the coffee maker with a shrill. Haruka winced, but grabbed his mug of steamed milk. He had enough coffee for one day, so steamed milk it was. It had a blueberry flavour shot, which made his milk baby blue in colour. Drinking colourful things made his bad days better… Nagisa was getting to him. Fuck. He blew on the drink and turned around.  
   
 “Haru?”  
   
 Haruka looked up.  
   
 Miho stepped into the break room for senior staff and smiled. “Good morning!”  
   
 “Mmm.” Haruka sipped his drink and forced himself to give a little nod of acknowledgement.  
   
 “What’s wrong?”  
   
 Haruka put his drink down on the counter then stared at her. He thought about not telling her, but… “Sensei. Visions… don’t exist, do they?”  
   
 Miho blinked. “Visions?”  
   
 “Visions of the future… and past.” Haruka looked away. “Prophecies, foresight.”  
   
 “Of course not.” Miho hugged her clipboard to her chest. “No spell can go back into the past, or see into the future—time, as we understand it, is a human construct. Birth, growth, and death all exist but the thought of days and years… that’s human abstraction making sense of our ever growing and changing world… That’s class ten stuff. I taught you that.” She smiled for a moment, but it slowly eased away. “But visions don’t exist either, unless you’re casting a sensory spirit art maybe, but even then…”  
   
 Haruka nodded, taking his cup again. “They feel like visions…”  
   
 “Dreams, maybe?”  
   
 “No, I don’t think so. I’m too… aware.” Haruka sipped his drink. “Can… someone, show me something? Force me to see something?”  
   
 “Well…” Miho’s eyes darted to the floor. “There’s no proof but, theoretically speaking, well… yes.”  
   
 Haruka stared at her.  
   
 “Well, only a few…”  
   
 “Sensei.”  
   
 “Alright.” Miho sighed and looked up at him. “The power of what a psion can and can’t do is unknown to us… but consciousness, memories, dreams… that’s their realm.”  
   
 Haruka pursed his lips.  
   
 Miho forced a smile. “Does that help, Haru?”  
   
 “I… remembered, my parents. Not, not them themselves, just the funeral… stuff about them.”  
   
 “Do you believe Matsuoka-san…?”  
   
 “Possibly,” Haruka admitted. “As a side effect, maybe.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka eventually left the room and walked down the hall to his office. Luckily, it was a long hallway that _only_ led down to his office, so he never bumped into anyone on the way there. He pulled out his phone and flipped it open. He went down his contact list until he found the person he was looking for. He hit video call.  
   
 The screen lit up with blue dots that were accompanied with the sound of dialing.  
   
 “Hello?” Gou’s hair was damp, clinging to her skin, but not wet-wet. “Haru!”  
   
 “Morning.”  
   
 “Good morning!” Gou smiled wide. He could see the hallway of the shrine’s main building behind her. “I slept in today.”  
   
 Haruka smiled. “How are you sleeping?”  
   
 “Better at the shrine than in my room in The Eye,” Gou admitted. “Momo and Nagisa are making lunch now. Wanna say hi?”  
   
 Haruka sighed as he, too, kept walking. “Don’t have a choice, do I?”  
   
 “Haru-chan!” Nagisa yelled before shoving his face in the camera. “Hi!”  
   
 “Nagisa!” screamed Momotarou.  
   
 Nagisa and Gou’s face suddenly tinted red and Haruka heard the sound of something burning.  
   
 “Oops!” Nagisa laughed and ran away.  
   
 Gou eyed them for a moment before looking back to the camera. “Sorry.”  
   
 “Everything okay?”  
   
 “Uh… well, a bit of fire.”  
   
 “Fire?” From behind Gou, Rin put his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Someone say my middle name?”  
   
 Haruka rolled his eyes.  
   
 Gou laughed. “Go wake that boyfriend of yours—and stop staying up late with him all the time!”  
   
 “Well I’ll wake him up.” Rin let go and grinned. “But no promises on sleeping early.”  
   
 Gou shook her head and then moved. Haruka could tell she was going to the living room, with the low table. When she took a seat, it was just them, finally. “Sorry,” she said with a smile. “What can I do for you?”  
   
 Haruka glanced up and waved his hand; the doors to his office opened and he hit a button on his phone. The video call transposed to the large screen in his office and he put his phone away. “Kou,” he said as he put some papers down on his desk before turning to the screen. “I was, wondering… if you were remembering anything, troubling lately? Memories, or dreams?”  
   
 Gou blinked once, twice. “Not in particular… no.”  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka glanced to the floor then back up. “Any… spirit essence… leakage of sorts?”  
   
 “Leakage?” Gou shook her head. “Sorry, no. I’ll ask Ai if you want, but he would have reported that to you before I knew about it.”  
   
 “That’s alright.” Haruka nodded. “Thanks.”  
   
  Gou smiled. “If you need anything else, Haru, just let me know, okay?”  
   
 “Will do.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Makoto woke up alone that morning, hearing a soft meow instead of his partner’s breathing. He opened his eyes to find Salmon rubbing his nose against his. Makoto smiled and pulled the sheets off of himself. He yawned first, which seemed to shock little Salmon, but Makoto laughed and scooped him up and took him to the kitchen. He saw Tuna meowing at her little bowl of food as she always did when she was hungry.  
   
 Makoto put Salmon down for a moment. “Sorry,” he whispered to them. He walked over to the cupboard where they kept the cat food but paused. He glanced out the window. The sun was coming out.  
   
 Makoto smiled and opened the pantry and soon scooped two of the measuring cups into each bowl. He then grabbed the pitcher of filtered water and poured it in their water bowls.  
   
 The two kittens began nibbling.  
   
 Makoto smiled and remembered he needed to feed the third person in the room. He put the pitcher down on the table and turned to the fridge. There was a note, a blue sticky note with Haruka’s handwriting.  
   
  _‘Left early’_  
   
 “What gave it away?” Makoto asked as he opened the fridge door. He grabbed the milk, the butter, and a small basket of blueberries. He closed the door with his foot and put them down. He grabbed two slices of white bread and put them in the toaster, pushing down on the kitten-shaped lever. He looked along the kitchen counter and found the rolled oats. In a bowl, he added some oats and some milk, then used a quick spell to heat it up. Adding a couple blueberries, he mixed the oatmeal.  
   
 The bread popped with a ‘Meow!’ sound effect and Makoto grabbed a plate. Putting the toast on the plate, he used a knife to add some butter to each slice. It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but it was breakfast for one so…  
   
 He ate slowly, looking out the window.  
   
 He decided to push it open and felt a warm summer breeze, carrying the scent of the salty ocean and fresh air, nautical miles away from pollution. As he finished his first slice of toast, he noticed his phone on the counter and he grabbed it. He turned it on and noticed several messages from Rei. When he clicked them, he smiled.  
   
 There were several pictures of their snowball fight yesterday. It was all fun and games until Rin got hit by four snowballs at the same time, got pissed, and brought a fiery serpent dragon to life. While most people would have stopped there, Aiichiro used his telekinesis to dump piles and piles of fresh soft snow on Rin.  
   
 At that point Sousuke tried to intervene, but Nagisa insisted that they keep going. The game became more dangerous at that point, with everyone using a spell or two to cheat. Even Nagisa who had yet to be able to witch again, was on high alert, sensing any snowballs coming his way.  
   
 When the spells became frequent, Gou stepped out of it. Rei stood by her, mostly to keep her company, but partially because he wanted to take a few pictures.  
   
 Makoto grinned and bit into his second slice of toast.  
   
 He remembered using his feathers to give his snowballs wings and how Rin’s scream of defeat followed soon after.  
   
 Makoto held his phone up to the window and took a picture of the ocean shimmering from the warm sun.  
   
 He sent it to Rei.  
   
  _[Makoto: Jealous?]_  
   
 He wasn’t expecting a reply, but got one right away.  
   
  _[Rei: May we trade hemispheres?]_  
   
 Makoto laughed and typed back.  
   
  _[Makoto: Maybe in six months!]_  
   
 He finished his toast and looked at the oatmeal he didn’t really want.  
   
 Toast and oatmeal, it was all he really ate when Haru wasn’t around. He didn’t bother putting the effort unless someone else was also eating with him. Haru didn’t cook much. He used to. Makoto remembered all the fillets Haru would grill to perfection. Makoto never liked fish much, not the way his dad made it, but when Haruka cooked dinner once…  
   
 He glanced to the side, hoping Haru had made a pot of coffee, but the lack of scent prepared him for seeing it empty.  
   
 Makoto sighed. He grabbed some of the coffee beans and added it to the coffee machine, which grinded them, and then began to heat the water. Makoto, a little impatient, used another quick spell to get it to the right temperature. The coffee began to drip into the pot.  
   
 He didn’t know when they switched with the whole cooking thing, but they did.  
   
 Something beeped.  
   
 Not beeped, more like… pinged?  
   
 Makoto turned around to see a purple dot on their calendar. He blinked and walked over to it, reading the note. “Oh, shit.” He quickly sent a message to his younger sister.  
   
  _[Makoto: Go kick their rear ends today!! Nothing can stop you, you’re totally an amazing witch!]_  
   
 Then to his little brother.  
   
  _[Makoto: Exams are always scary, but just give it your all okay? As long as you do that, I’m proud of you.]_  
   
 Different encouragement for different people.  
   
 Makoto tapped the calendar to remove the reminder and his phone buzzed.  
   
  _[Ran: were going in soon!! gonna make them fear me! >8D]_  
   
  _[Ren: Thank you so much Onii-chan! We’re going in now. I’ll do my best!]_  
   
 Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect timing. If they were going in, he probably shouldn’t message them anymore. He put his phone away and then walked back to the counter. He leaned on it, staring out, watching the ocean waves move in and out rhythmically.  
   
 Another warm summer’s breeze passed over him.  
   
 “Mmm.” He tilted his head. Maybe he could swim today.  
   
 A far sound caught his thoughts; spirit essence whirled into a portal.  
   
 Makoto walked into the living room, then opened the door. He was only wearing a pair of loose dark green boxers, but considering it was his porch and his island… He leaned over the railing and smiled. “Morning.”  
   
 Sousuke offered a wave. Strapped to his back was a black tube, one used to transport scrolls and other rolled up papers, he also held a notebook with a folded arm. “Hey.” He ran his free hand through his hair. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”  
   
 Makoto shook his head. “Haru’s at work, I just got up.”  
   
 “Mind if I come in?”  
   
 “Please.” Makoto smiled. “Our house is your house.” He turned and heard Sousuke walk up the steps. Makoto walked through the open door and moved to the kitchen. “Can I get you coffee? Tea?”  
   
 “Coffee, if it’s not a problem.”  
   
 “Right, not a tea person.” Makoto grabbed the fresh pot and then snatched two mugs. “Looks like you brought something with you.”  
   
 “Yeah, I’ve been working on something… but I can’t quite get it right.” He tugged the scroll case off his back. “Mind if I lay it on the table?”  
   
 “Go for it.” Makoto grabbed the milk. “Blueprints?”  
   
 “Yeah.” Sousuke undid the top and pulled the blue paper out. It was digital paper, which was essentially an expensive and big screen. He rolled it out over the table and then put his notebook next to it. “Mister Engineer helped me with some of the designs, but I was hoping one of you could help me work out some of the math. Research and technical stuff are your department, right? It’s a displacement weapon, sort of.”  
   
 Makoto made Sousuke’s coffee the way he liked it, with one spoon of sugar and a touch of milk. He offered it.  
   
 Sousuke grinned. “Thanks.”  
   
 Makoto nodded and grabbed his own mug, which had several spoons of sugar and lots of milk. “Displacement weapon?” He glanced to the notebook. “Distortions?”  
   
 “Shit, you’re good.” Sousuke laughed. “Do you ever let anyone talk or do you just connect dots yourself?”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “Sorry.”  
   
 “Nah, I don’t mind.” Sousuke shook his head. “I went through all the math with Rin and he still had no idea what it was for.”  
   
 “Well…” Makoto laughed as well, warm and hearty. “Rin’s good at rituals, not good at other things. So you’re making a weapon… or…” He looked at the diagram. “A gear, to place into the weapon during a distortion?”  
   
 “Yeah.” Sousuke nodded. “Too many injuries are caused by distortion differences. So I’m thinking, the same way my weapon has an underwater pressuriser, I could make something for distortions.”  
   
 “Hmm.” Makoto looked at the notebook, flipping the page. He waited for his eyes to focus, then gave up. Putting his mug down, he grabbed his glasses on the counter and put them on before looking at the notebook again. He flipped two more pages. “Um.” He looked around. “Pencil?”  
   
 Sousuke offered one. “Here, sorry. Don’t know why I didn’t do it digitally.”  
   
 Makoto grabbed one, feeling the once-familiar-now-foreign feel of the mechanical pencil and wrote a small note saying ‘Makoto’s Notes’, punctuated with a kitty face. He began scribbling equations out, circling numbers, and then underlining something twice. “Here.”  
   
 Sousuke blinked. “What?”  
   
 “You’re not accounting for entropy properly.” Makoto leaned to the side to give Sousuke a better view. “You’ve added the range of forty-to-twenty, but entropy is a measure of chaos and order in a spirit system. Inside a distortion, this number can literally be anything.”  
   
 “But…”  
   
 “See, that’s why the injuries are occurring.” Makoto smiled. “The central nerve is the plane between spaces of visible light and it exists in a distortion ranging from forty-to-twenty, which is why no zombification can occur. But, other distortions can be anything. Some can be much worse, much higher or lower, and some could even be neutral.”  
   
 “Right.” Sousuke rubbed his forehead. “But how the hell would I account for that level of randomness?”  
   
 “Simple, make it a variable. Y.” He scribbled more notes. “If you can make Y a function of X, then it’s secondary-level algebra from there.”  
   
 “I see. Shit.” Sousuke sighed, sipping his coffee. “No wonder.”  
   
 Makoto put the pencil down and grabbed his own mug. “So it’s true then, new distortions are appearing?”  
   
 Sousuke raised an eyebrow. “You seem, pretty calm.”  
   
 “Yeah.” Makoto nodded. “I’m a bit… skeptical about it.”  
   
 “You? Skeptical?”  
   
 Makoto let out a soft chuckle and shrugged as he moved to the counter, pouring himself another mug. “That’s what I said. More coffee?”  
   
 “I’m good, thanks. But they’re real. I have to close a lot of them.”  
   
 “I have no doubt they’re real,” Makoto clarified, “I’m just wondering if there are more distortions appearing because more are actually appearing, or is The Eye just getting better at detecting them?”  
   
 Sousuke raised an eyebrow.  
   
 Makoto turned around. “Has any witch actually detected new distortions, or are we just following the radio tower and the satellites.”  
   
 “Satellites,” Sousuke admitted. “You have a point, but the sudden spike…”  
   
 “It’s a spike?” Makoto sipped his coffee. “Well, I’ve yet to see any data graphs… but…”  
   
 When Makoto went quiet, Sousuke knew exactly what he was thinking about—Nazuoka, Nagisa, Chrysalis—it was the most common theory, but… “I could forward the graphs to you. If this is an aftershock of Chrysalis effects, then we can all sleep a lot more soundly knowing it’ll pass.”  
   
 Makoto snapped out of his daze. “That would be great. I didn’t know the data graphs were available.”  
   
 “They’re not. Haru sent them to me.”  
   
 Makoto sipped his drink again. His eyes flicked to the side for a moment.  
   
 Sousuke felt his chest squeeze. “Makoto?”  
   
 Makoto said nothing.  
   
 Sousuke tensed.  
   
 “Sorry,” he said as he put his cup down. “I’m just tired. That’s all.”  
   
 “You’re not very convincing. You never were a good actor.”  
   
 “So, maybe you should do the acting for me,” Makoto said firmly, “And not ask.”  
   
 Sousuke’s eyebrows shot up. Stunned speechless, he just stared.  
   
 “Sorry.” Makoto looked away. “Just, um. Sorry…”  
   
 “Makoto—”  
   
 “Sorry. You should go.”  
   
 Sousuke put his cup down and scratched his head. “Alright. I’m sorry if I…?”  
   
 “It’s okay. Just…”  
   
 “Yeah, okay.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka decided even if he was drinking too much caffeine, he needed more. A warm strawberry-sakura latte in his hand, he walked down the halls of the highest floor of the central nerve. It was when he saw a tuft of red-orange hair pressing its face against display glass that he cleared his throat.  
   
 Momotarou turned. “Haru-chan!”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “But, but, Nagisa’s allowed to call you it!”  
   
 Haruka brought his latte up to hide his smile behind the Styrofoam cup. “Maybe when you’ve known me for a year.” He sipped his beverage.  
   
 “Countdown commence!” Momotarou clenched a fist as his eyes burned with passion.  
   
 Haruka tilted his head. “What are you doing? This a V.I.P. area.”  
   
 Momotarou grinned. “Well, Sousuke left by a portal and he didn’t come back right away, so I went to look for him.”  
   
 Haruka’s face didn’t change. “How did you get here?”  
   
 “Access card!” He held it up. “Sousuke gave me his spare one!”  
   
 “And… why?”  
   
 “For emergencies.”  
   
 “What’s your emergency?”  
   
 “Well, uh…” Momotarou went quiet and put both hands behind his back. Fumbling his hands together, his cheeks flushed red and he wiggled back and forth. “When I think of a certain someone… my heart beats kinda fast…”  
   
 Haruka bit his lip to suppress the laugh bubbling in the back of his throat. “That doesn’t count.”  
   
 Momotarou made some form of vocal noise.  
   
 Haruka winced.  
   
 “It doesn’t!?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “Awwwww!”  
   
 “Out.”  
   
 Momotarou pouted. “Fine! But, if you see Sousuke, send him my way okay?”  
   
 “Sure.” Haruka made a motion towards the exit with the hand holding his drink.  
   
 “Oh a latte!” Momotarou grabbed the Styrofoam cup and sipped it. “Can I have it?”  
   
 Haruka stayed silent for a moment. “Sure.”  
   
 Momotarou grinned. “You’re like a big brother to me!”  
   
 Haruka’s eyes widened.  
   
 What.  
   
 Haruka couldn’t breathe. “What?”  
   
 “Huh?” Momotarou paused.  
   
 Haruka saw a flash of light. Then his vision blurred. Five stained glass paintings appeared in his mind’s eye—one was blue, the one he saw before—one, yellow, Nagisa—and the third—Orange—He lost his balance. He began falling backwards. His hair shifted with the movement as he fell.  
   
 Momotarou kept talking but his voice was in an echo: _“I just, it’s like Rin is kinda like a big bro to me, and so is Makoto, Rei, Nagisa, and Ai were older, so they’ve always kinda been that way. I’m the baby of the group, I guess.”_  
   
 Haruka’s eyes opened. He wasn’t falling. He was standing perfectly still, watching Momotarou talk. “Sure.”  
   
 Momo blinked. “Yeah?”  
   
 “Just, go home.”  
   
 “Okay!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka was up late. He wasn’t sure if it was three or four in the morning, but his laptop was on the kitchen table and his hands kept typing. He waved his hands to change tabs, and then grabbed the mouse to scroll. His eyes darted across the screen, trying to desperately find… He heard footsteps. He glanced up. “Sleep.”  
   
 Makoto rubbed his eyes as he walked passed the table. “Already up.”  
   
 Haruka said nothing, but continued to type.  
   
 Makoto turned on the kettle. “What are you up to? More council work?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 Makoto waited for some kind of… more, but it didn’t come. “What are you doing?”  
   
 “Research.”  
   
 “Need help, Haru?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 “You sure?”  
   
 “Yes.”  
   
 Makoto opened up the cupboard and grabbed two tea bags of his favourite sleeping blend, chamomile, lavender, and rose petals. He put one in each mug. “So what are you researching?”  
   
 “Something personal.”  
   
 “Hm.” Makoto began pouring the hot water in each cup. “Pers-anal.”  
   
 Haruka’s typing stopped. “What?”  
   
 “Huh?” Makoto blinked, cheeks warming red. “Ah! Um! Ah, something Nagisa said…”  
   
 “Oh.” Haruka nodded. His typing resumed. “Do you believe in visions?”  
   
 “No. Why?”  
   
 “Doesn’t matter.”  
   
 “Hm.” Makoto opened the fridge and grabbed the milk. He added a touch to each drink. “Is it because of your weird dream in the bathtub?”  
   
 “Maybe.”  
   
 Makoto put the milk back and then grabbed a small tin of sleeping herbs that dissolved in water. He turned it around silently, checking the label on the back. He read the side-effects carefully before putting it down again. Nope. Nothing there. He added one bundle of herbs to his drink. “Coming to bed?”  
   
 “When I feel tired.”  
   
 “Meeting in the morning?”  
   
 “No.”  
   
 Makoto added two bundles of herbs into Haruka’s drink, then offered the tea.  
   
 Haruka took a second to realise the mug being held out for him, but eventually he peeled his eyes off the laptop and grabbed it.  
   
 “No meeting, so you should sleep in.”  
   
 “I’ll wake up early. I want to go to the shrine in the evening, so have to be busy in the morning to clear my schedule.”  
   
 “Oh.” Makoto smiled. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you. Momo made this amazing cake, sour raspberry with sweet milk chocolate… it’s to die for, ask for a slice.”  
   
 “I won’t be staying long.”  
   
 Makoto’s smile faltered. “I see. You have business there.”  
   
 Haruka sipped his tea, then put it down, resuming his typing.  
   
 Makoto turned around. “Well, make sure you come to bed at some point tonight.”


	3. Red of Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know if I said this already or not, but this is my first time writing a sequel so a part of me is scared shitless. Feel free to leave me comments if you can think of any tips/suggestions or if you just want to tell me how I'm doing. I'd like some feedback, haha. OFM was the best thing I wrote, so the pressure to make something equally as great is heavy on me. Anyway, that downer aside LOL, I actually really like this chapter! Please, enjoy.
> 
> * * *

 The candles weren’t the usual candles, not for rituals. Those burned too hot for the little game they wanted to play. It was midnight. The others were asleep. It was midnight. They probably shouldn’t have been using the skylight shrine for something as personal as this, but it was far enough away from the main building that the warm orange glow of candles wouldn’t be noticed. As much as Rin loved living in the shrine, he missed the privacy of having his own place.  
    
 Although… there was something exciting about sneaking around others too…  
    
 His lips were sore, swollen, hurting from the half hour he’d been making out with Nitori. Rough kisses, biting each other’s lips, a game of dominance. But now his hands were tied together, he was shirtless, on his knees, chin to the ground.  
    
 Nitori stood above him, wearing a black, thin, single-layered kimono. He opened his hand and a red candle lifted off the ground and rose into his palm. He grasped it. It wasn’t a regular candle. Rin and Ai had made it themselves. It was red, which came from the spirit essence being channelled in a rune where it absorbed that wavelength of visible light. It was infused, with sage, the most common purifier, thistle, for healing and fire protection, and ginger—something that once made them blush. Carefully, he eyed the flickering light. The wax began to melt at the tip and he waited for it to pool. Slowly, he moved it above Rin’s back and tilted it.  
    
 Several drops of hot red wax fell.  
    
 They cooled through the air before splashing on Rin’s back.  
    
 Rin hissed, shoulders becoming tense and wrists trying to tug away from each other. He bit his lip as the searing pleasure made his skin prickle. The drops began to roll off, creating a trail of heat. He closed his eyes, letting out a whimper. “Fuck.”  
    
 Nitori’s smile widened and he knew it would be best to skip any teasing. He let go of the candle and it stood still in the air. He waved his hands and the three other candles lifted themselves up. A ring of purple energy swirled around him. With a thought and a twist of his hand, he closed his eyes and the four candles tilted over, spilling.  
    
 Rin bit his lip to hide his scream. The burning liquid made his eyes roll to the back of his head. The burn moved up his spine, which caused his shoulder blades to twitch.  
    
 Searing pleasure.  
    
 Nitori opened his eyes and held a hand forward. Although invisible in this reality, his third eye opened. The hot wax was infused with spirit essence; and, with his mind, he could control it.  
    
 Defying gravity, the hot wax began to move in the opposite direction.  
    
 Rin whimpered.  
    
 Nitori moved down onto his knees behind Rin and waved his hand to the right, causing the hot wax to drift to that side. He leaned over and kissed Rin’s left shoulder blade, where the tribal tattoo of a Chinese dragon was. “Like that?”  
    
 “Oh fucking yeah,” Rin purred. “You kinky little shit.”  
    
 “Are you complaining?”  
    
 Rin snorted. “As if.”  
    
 Nitori waved his other hand and the hot wax began to ‘swim’ across the dip of Rin’s spine and roll over to the other shoulder blade. The second the wax touched the tattoo—it burned bright ruby, reacting to the energy. Nitori leaned in and kissed his right shoulder blade which was tender from the wax. He opened his mouth to say something, but he sensed something else.  
    
 Someone else.  
    
 The door opened.  
    
 A gust of frosty air and snowflakes rushed inside.  
    
 They both looked up.  
    
 Haruka stood, mouth open to speak but frozen from the sight before him. His robe and cape fluttered in the wind.  
    
 Rin’s eyes widened. “H-Hey!”  
    
 Haruka looked at him. “What.”  
    
 Rin growled. “Don’t just fucking stare!”  
    
 Nitori forced a smile. “I-It’s a game!”  
    
 “I…” Haruka shook his head, shaking the image out of his mind. “I need to talk to you. It’s urgent.”  
    
 “Sure!” Nitori forced a smile. “J-Just give us a sec to clean up!”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “Sure…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Another thing about the shrine Rin liked was the abundance of unused buildings and mini-shrines. There were the three main buildings, but some of the smaller ones too. Apparently the Mahō had been quite large in days past. He was wearing a black kimono, similar to Ai’s, but his had a design of a green serpent over his left ribcage. Loose fitting to give his skin some air to ‘breathe’. Nitori was serving tea, jasmine green, before offering cups.  
    
 “Here.”  
    
 Rin took it with a nod and then took a sip. He put the tea mug down and glanced to Haruka over the low table. “So what exactly do you need from me, Highlord Sir?”  
    
 Haruka winced at that, but looked away. “Have…”  
    
 Nitori served Haru as well before pouring himself a mug.  
    
 “Have either of you… felt an inflection, or difference, in either Ai’s or Kou’s spirit essence?”  
    
 Nitori put the teapot down. “No.”  
    
 Rin scratched his cheek. “Can’t say I have either.”  
    
 Haruka didn’t look surprised. “You’re both sure?”  
    
 Nitori nodded. “Why?”  
    
 “Nothing,” Haruka muttered. “Then that means it’s on purpose… there’s another…”  
    
 “Another?” Rin raised his pierced eyebrow. “Haru?”  
    
 “I’m being…” Haruka sighed. “Tampered, with.”  
    
 Rin’s eyes narrowed.  
    
 Nitori put both his hands in his lap. “Tampered with?”  
    
 “I’ve been having odd… dreams, but they’re not dreams. They’re visions.” Haruka frowned. “I’ve read some reports on psions from years ago, and if I can detect someone’s spirit essence on me then a psion is tampering with me. I’ve detected someone’s spirit essence, but I don’t know whose it is.”  
    
 Nitori’s eyes widened. “Tampered with… but you’re the Iris of The Eye… if someone’s trying to…”  
    
 Rin rubbed his tongue stud against the roof of his mouth and raised his pierced eyebrow again. “Alright. If you wanted to get it cleared off, that’s an easy as fuck ritual, right?”  
    
 “I don’t want it cleared,” he admitted. “I want it separated and confined. I want to know whose spirit essence it is. Clearing it will keep their identity hidden.”  
    
 Rin whistled. “You’re looking at a hell of a complicated ritual there.”  
    
 “Well.” Haruka smiled a fake smile. “Aren’t you the Master of Rituals?”  
    
 “Tsk.” Rin rubbed his neck, which was littered with indiscreet hickeys. “Stroke my ego and you got me.”  
    
 Nitori sighed, but smiled anyway. “I’ll be glad to help as well, Haruka.”  
    
 Rin huffed. “We’re going to need to confine it in something, though. That’s not hard, but we’ll need like a jar or something.”  
    
 Nitori stood up. “I’ll find something.”  
    
 “Great.” Rin stood up as well. “I’ll get my box of reagents… which means I gotta sneak by and not wake anyone up, but I’ll be back.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haruka could have assisted with the ritual… but he spent the time watching, watching how Nitori worked with Rin, talking about which herbs, which candles. They worked so well with each other, like two streams peacefully converging into one river. If jealousy was a knife, it was jammed in Haruka’s stomach, twisting slowly, churning his insides and forcing his bile up to lick at his throat.  
    
 “Just be ready with the jar,” Rin explained. “I’ll take care of the rest.”  
    
 Nitori nodded, holding up the glass jar, a simple Mason jar. “Will it jump around, or you think you can direct it?”  
    
 “Depends,” Rin muttered. He glanced to Haruka. “You wouldn’t happen to know how much energy is laced on you, do you?”  
    
 “No.” Haruka’s hands squeezed into fists. “But it’s passive.”  
    
 Rin knew the intonation of that comment, but figured Ai didn’t. “It’s trying not to get caught, so it might fly around… It won’t be a problem though.” Rin summoned four crystals of spirit essence. “Hopefully.” With a snap of his fingers, the crystal burst into silver, shimmering dust. With a wave of his hands, he created two trigrams—three lines creating a triangle; each line was either a straight line or made of two unconnected dashes.  
    
 Haruka stiffened. He knew Rin didn’t turn to Taoist rituals for nothing, but he knew it was called for. He wasn’t as talented as Rin when it came to foreign witchcraft, but he knew the two triangles.  
    
 Fire and water.  
    
  _The Joyous_ was the trigram of water, connected to openness. A source of pleasure, it’s state was tranquility. Rin made that one surround just Haruka pointing right-side up. _The Clinging_ was the trigram of fire, connected to radiance. The state of clarity. The sheer presence of the trigram caused all of their third eyes to be revealed. This trigram was larger, encompassing both him and Haru, upside-down.  
    
 Rin took a deep breath and the trigrams moved to the floor. At each corner, a small circle opened for a candle.  
    
 Nitori placed the three whites in the water trigram, knowing the purity and amplification would work best with that. He placed a single black one on the downward point of the fire trigram, and then two purples at the other two ends.  
    
 Rin looked over. “Ready?”  
    
 Nitori grabbed the jar, undid the top, and nodded. “Ready.”  
    
 Rin looked at Haruka.  
    
 Haruka nodded. He had seen it so many times before, Rin performing rituals. He watched the focus on his face as the candles lit up, one at a time. He glanced to the side, noticing a circular wind breeze around him. The fire of each candle suddenly had a tail of light, reaching in that circle to the next candle. Haruka was surrounded by two rings of fire at the height of his shins.  
    
 Rin got down on one knee and slapped his right hand over his left wrists.  
    
 Lines of fire trailed outwards from the first ring to beyond the second.  
    
 Haruka frowned, trying to understand what was happening; and, then, it clicked.  
    
 It was a spider web.  
    
 Rin would catch the prey.  
    
  _‘Draw out the unwanted!’_  
    
 Rin frowned. He could feel a rush of lingering energies over Haru. He could ‘taste’ the other councillors, as well as Makoto who he laid night by night next to, but he couldn’t find anything else. He needed a more direct method. _‘Draw out the unwanted.’_ The ring of fire began to smoke and the smoke whirled to Haruka’s head. “Breathe it in.”  
    
 Haruka closed his eyes and inhaled it through his nostrils. His eyes snapped open.  
    
 A flash of blue light.  
    
 A ringing sound.  
    
 A crack in his head—sharp pain spreading like a crack in glass.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened and he felt blood pour down his forehead from his third eye.  
    
 He saw an island. A small one, with a temple. A cathedral. Raised above the ocean, it had stairs going down to a lower sector, soft patch of grassland.  
    
 His mind moved forward.  
    
 He saw Nagisa, palm burning with black fire. Lines of white tracing his skin. Left hand raised, he summoned a scythe.  
    
 There was a door.  
    
 Large double doors that felt like Nagisa.  
    
 It was locked; someone used their mind to lock it.  
    
 He felt Aiichiro.  
    
 The lock had broken.  
    
 The door began to creak open once again.  
    
 Haruka didn’t know why his heart began beating fast, but something was on the other side of that door. He heard the howling of black wind and his fingers twitched.  
    
 The door was opening.  
    
 No.  
    
 It was slammed closed. Someone was trying to push it back. He was a man, with red hair, orange-red hair. For a moment he thought it was Momotarou, but it couldn’t be. His hair was redder and his build was bigger. It was almost like he was and older brothe—  
    
 He felt a snap in his brain.  
    
 Electricity raked his body once.  
    
 Memories flashed, endlessly. He saw a sight, once, of Makoto, crying because Haruka had gotten a paper cut and a dribble of blood slipped out of his fingers. Haruka decided to go home, so his mom could put a band-aid on it. His mother… his parents, his mother… his parents, his moth…er.  
    
 Haruka grabbed his head, closing his eyes, forcing sight back. Unable to hold it in, with shaky breath, he screamed, yelling, howling as his throat burned.  
    
 “Haru!” Rin yelled, but his voice seemed distant.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened, then the visions stopped. His eyes closed. It was happening again, but real this time. He began falling back. Ai called his name, desperation thick in his cry. Rin got up and ran over, but he wouldn’t make it in time.  
    
 Haruka blacked out, and hit the floor.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Makoto was at home, putting groceries in the fridge. It was still too early for the stores in Japan to be running, so he went to Italy where supermarkets were just closing. He admitted he loved being the Iris’ partner. No one ever denied him access of portals, even during high traffic times. He closed the fridge then put the pasta in the pantry, humming to himself. Haruka had gone, wasn’t home when Makoto awoke. Surprisingly there was no note saying he left early, though. He thought nothing of it.  
    
 The portal opened.  
    
 Makoto paused.  
    
 There were footsteps, loud ones.  
    
 Makoto didn’t look as he opened a drawer, pulling out a larger knife, holding it in reverse grip.  
    
 Feathers appeared around his feet, making his steps light and silent. But he realised there would be no point to it, because the intruder’s footsteps were loud and thumping, coming right for him.  
    
 “Makoto!” Sousuke yelled as he turned into the kitchen.  
    
 “He’s got a knife!” Momotarou screamed and latched onto Sousuke’s arm.  
    
 Makoto blinked and then put the knife down. “Sorry, your spirit essence was frantic…”  
    
 “It’s alright, forget that.” Sousuke took a deep breath. “Haru collapsed.”  
    
 Makoto frowned. “What? When? Why? Where?”  
    
 “They were doing some ritual or another,” Sousuke explained, putting a hand on his hip. “Apparently Haru found spirit essence on him.”  
    
 Makoto frowned. “When?”  
    
 “Last night-ish? This morning? Past midnight.” Sousuke sighed. “I just heard.”  
    
 “Last night?” Makoto’s eyes widened. “Why the _fuck_ did you wait until now to tell me?”  
    
 Momotarou swallowed hard. Up until then, he was pretty sure Makoto didn’t know any swear words considering the most he said was ‘Gosh frick it’. “I’ve been working on him for hours straight, trying to stabilise him. Nagisa was guiding me through the medical process, while Rin and Ai were trying to set up a containment field. Rei went to get Miho, and…”  
    
 “I just got back from a mission.” Sousuke nodded. “When they told me I asked if anyone told you.”  
    
 Makoto glared at both of them for a moment before closing the drawer and taking a breath. “What happened?”  
    
 “Haruka’s apparently been having bad dreams or something. He sensed spirit over him, so he went to the shrine.”  
    
 Makoto frowned. “Why the shrine?”  
    
 “Well.” Sousuke bit back the urge to run away. “Rin.”  
    
 “Rin…” Makoto looked away. “It’s always Rin…”  
    
 Momotarou zipped his mouth shut, staying clear away from whatever was sailing in those waters.  
    
 Makoto looked up. “Is Haru okay?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Sousuke looked to the side. “For the most part. If it was critical, you would have been the first to know. But we need you to inform the council.”  
    
 “Right.” Makoto sighed. “I’m playing messenger boy, huh?”  
    
 Sousuke felt an icy chill lick his spine. “Makoto…”  
    
 “I should head back,” Momotarou said. “Miho’s there, but she’ll need another support to help her out.” He quickly retreated—not even staying to say goodbye to the kittens.  
    
 “Makoto…”  
    
 “I’ll do it,” Makoto assured. “Don’t worry.”  
    
 “Hey.” Sousuke rubbed his neck, looking away.  
    
 Makoto smiled, though it was clear he was pissed.  
    
 “Rin… said he felt your spirit essence over Haru.”  
    
 Makoto’s smile dropped. “Are you accusing me?”  
    
 “Not right now.” Sousuke dropped his hands at his side and straightened his back. “Don’t give me a reason to suspect you, though.”  
    
 “That’s right.” Makoto didn’t back down either. “Making enemies of your friends is your strong point, isn’t it?”  
    
 Sousuke winced.  
    
 Makoto looked away. “I’m sorry, that was low.”  
    
 Sousuke didn’t reply.  
    
 “I’ll tell the council.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 It was the dead of the night at the central nerve. A person, alone, stood atop the radio tower that was far above everything else The Eye owned in their makeshift island, between time and space, in the fractions between visible light. That person stood wearing a black robe, enchanted to blend with the shadows. A dark yellow scarf hooped twice around their neck. They tugged it down, letting themselves breathe the thin cold air.  
    
 They pulled out their phone and flipped it open.  
    
 An image was on the screen, data files attached appearing in small windows on the sidebar.  
    
 Haruka Nanase.  
    
 They swiped it and the image changed.  
    
 Rin Matsuoka.  
    
 Swiped again.  
    
 Gou Matsuoka.  
    
 One more time.  
    
 Nagisa Hazuki.  
    
 They winced, for the last three were their…  
    
 The person closed their phone and it turned into a card, shooting into their sleeve, shuffling in the deck under their clothes. They removed their hood and let the wind make a mess of their hair. They took a step back before taking a deep breath. “I’m coming for you.” They ran forward, leaping off the radio tower, diving to the city below. “Kisumi…”


	4. Enter of Leave

 The white elevator had a blue hue.  
    
 The two of them stood, waiting as the number of the floor changed, lowering one at a time. It eventually read ‘2’.  
    
 “Ready?”  
    
 Gou swallowed hard. “Yeah.” She put on a smile. “I’ll be okay.”  
    
 “When I was walking through there earlier, it was quite busy,” Nitori noted. “Just tell me if you want to leave.”  
    
 “No no, it’ll be good.” Gou took a deep breath, hands clenching together. “It’ll get my mind off things… especially since there’s, no update on Haru yet… Is there?”  
    
 Nitori shook his head.  
    
 The elevator opened.  
    
 They stepped out.  
    
 Gou’s eyes widened.  
    
 They were at the main floor of the central nerve, where The Eye had all their vendors with their tents, like an open market. “We’re just going to the other side,” Nitori explained. “There’s the café Nagisa keeps talking about.”  
    
 Gou looked at the sign at the far side. “Corney-a Jokes… really? Like, really?”  
    
 Nitori sighed. “Yeah. Anyway, ready?”  
    
 Gou nodded and took her first step forward. One step led to another and she entered the crowd. She passed witch after witch, making her way tentatively across the floor. A couple people bumped into her, specks of their spirit essence falling on her clothes. She looked over her shoulder, to make sure Nitori was behind her, and he just offered a supportive smile. Gou relaxed, taking another breath and kept walking. She would do it. But something caught her eye. She paused in front of a vendor selling accessories. They weren’t magic related, just fashion wear.  
    
 Nitori figured she was probably like her brother. “We can get something if you want.”  
    
 Gou looked at him then smiled. She walked up to the vendor, swallowing hard as she eyed his wares. She noticed a moon-shaped hair pin. It was coloured glass, pale white but reflective all the same. Translucent. She reached for it.  
    
 But someone else snatched it first.  
    
 “Huh?” Gou asked out of sheer confusion.  
    
 “Hmm?” A woman, maybe twenty-five, maybe older, had light blond-brown hair styled in a high bun, adorned with a clip that had three small roses on it. She looked at Gou and blinked twice. “Oh.” Another blink. “Did you want this one?”  
    
 “No.” Gou smiled, retracting her hand. “It’s okay.”  
    
 “You’re a bad liar.” She laughed and then glanced to his wares. “Last one, huh?” She eyed Gou for a moment before leaning in. “Wait a sec… you’re that psion girl, huh?”  
    
 Nitori stepped forward.  
    
 Gou stepped back.  
    
 “No need to get defensive!” She offered a peaceful smile. “Matsuoka’s sister, right? I was with your brother on a couple missions during the third world war… but he… probably won’t remember me.” She scratched her nose with her free hand. “He was a high rank, and I was a little grunt back then. You really look like him!”  
    
 Gou clasped her hands together in front of her. She could feel the vendor eyeing her, but it seemed no one had any ill intent. “Yeah… You’re Japanese?”  
    
 “Chigusa Hanamura,” she introduced herself with an offering of her hand.  
    
 “Kou Matsuoka.” She took the hand with a small shake.  
    
 Chigusa smiled. “How about I buy this for you, then?”  
    
 Gou blinked.  
    
 “I owe your brother one,” Chigusa’s voice softened as she put the hairpin down on the counter. “Got stuck, actually.” She offered her card to the vendor, who took it. “One of the support types trapped me between two barriers… slowly squeezing the air out of me.” A shiver raced down her spine. “If your brother wasn’t leading the team… Sorry!” She scratched the back of her head and laughed. “Didn’t mean to turn it grim!” She took the card back as well as the hairpin before looking to Gou. “But Matsuoka-san saved me and Nagisa-kun healed me back up. Nagisa’s doing better, right? It was big news when he came back!”  
    
 Gou could tell even the vendor was leaning forward a bit. She couldn’t blame him. “Yes, much better. Still some… complications, but nothing that’s really threatening.”  
    
 “That’s great to hear!” Chigusa offered the hairband. “Um…”  
    
 Nitori looked at her, worryingly.  
    
 “I know this is kinda, random?” Chigusa shifted her weight to her other foot. “But… growing up, one of my close friends ended up being a psion… so they took her away. It’s a lot on your shoulders, Kou-san, but even if a little bit all you can do for psions… that’s more than anyone else ever has.”  
    
 Gou took the hairpin, unsure how to react to those words. “Thank you.”  
    
 “Sorry.” Chigusa smiled again. “Didn’t mean to burden you or anything…”  
    
 “No, no!” Gou shook her head. “It’s the opposite… I was worried some people might be opposed to what Ai and I are doing. But maybe not.”  
    
 Chigusa nodded. “Most people know a psion. If it’s not one of their classmates, it’s one of their kids, or one of their friend’s kids. A neighbour, family.”  
    
 Gou glanced to the vendor, who only nodded slowly. She returned her gaze to Chigusa. “It’s good to know people are on my side.”  
    
 Nitori looked between them, sensing an opportunity. “We’re getting coffee if you want to join us, Hanamura-san?”  
    
 Chigusa blinked. “Can I?”  
    
 Gou smiled. “Sure.”  
    
 Chigusa grinned.  
    
 Nitori smiled as well. She made a friend.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Hey,” Gou muttered to Ai who was going to take them to the circular sofa-chairs. “Is that Makoto?”  
    
 Nitori looked up and nodded. “Yeah, but…”  
    
 “That’s Tachibana, right?” Chigusa tilted her head. “He looks kinda… down?”  
    
 Makoto, who was sitting alone at a four-person table by the window of the café, sat alone by himself, tapping at something on his phone. When he heard footsteps, he looked up and smiled. “Oh hey.” He didn’t know the third person but that didn’t matter. “They’ve got a good special today. Oh. It must be your first time here, Kou!”  
    
 “It is!” Gou took her seat and tapped the table for the menu to pop up. The interface was similar to the one in her room, but more artsy. She liked it. “Everyone gets me drinks from here, but I’m out and about seeing The Eye for the first time in… years.”  
    
 Chigusa sat next to her and smiled. When she noticed Makoto’s gaze she offered her hand. “Chigusa Hanamura. Tachibana, was it?”  
    
 “Makoto’s fine.” Makoto shook the hand and quickly put his order in, everyone else did too. He looked back up and tilted his head. “Hanamura… that’s, familiar?”  
    
 “We met a long time ago,” she explained. “In the war. Battle of Switzerland?”  
    
 “Oh!” Makoto nodded. “I remember. Wow, time flies. Can I call you Chigusa?”  
    
 Chigusa gave a lopsided smile in response. “I really don’t like the name. Just call me ‘Chi’.”  
    
 “Chi,” said Ai who was now sitting next to Makoto. “I like that.”  
    
  Makoto noted something in Gou’s hair and smiled. “I like the hairpin.”  
    
 Gou grinned and looked at Chigusa, who shared the smile. Chigusa tilted her head back at Makoto, though. “Why so glum?”  
    
 “Uhh…” Makoto looked away. “I can’t actually say. Relationship problems is as much as I can give out, I think.”  
    
 “That’s okay.” Chigusa nodded once. “Don’t have to tell me. Dating the Iris does that, huh?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Makoto sighed, looking more worn from just thinking about it.  
    
 Chigusa’s spine went straight. She had a feeling she was the only one who didn’t know that was a sensitive topic. “But it’s got to have some good points, too, right? I heard Nanase is actually a warm person if you get to know him.”  
    
 “Hm.” Makoto shrugged. “Not really.”  
    
 Nitori blinked.  
    
 Gou tilted her head. “Makoto?”  
    
 “Huh?” Makoto stared at her. “Oh, well. I don’t know. Sort of. He has his own way of showing that he cares and all that but I wouldn’t… really call him, warm. Does that sound bad?”  
    
 “I don’t think so,” Chigusa replied. “Some people aren’t warm and that’s okay, right? As long as you’re happy.”  
    
 Makoto didn’t bother forcing a smile. “We are…”  
    
 Gou swallowed hard. “Makoto…”  
    
 “I’m sorry.” Makoto scratched the back of his head. “I don’t mean to be a downer. It’s just hard times right now. We’re usually great.”  
    
 The waitress put their drinks down.  
    
 Makoto took his. “So you’re actually walking out and about, huh? How’s it going?”  
    
 Gou wasn’t sure how she felt about the topic change, but… “Good! It’s a bit weird, to be around people again, but at the same time it’s not any different than how it used to be; it’s exactly as I remember it.”  
    
 Makoto relaxed. “Really?”  
    
 Gou nodded. “I think I did well.”  
    
 “Yes.” Nitori sipped his drink. “Her spirit essence didn’t flair once.”  
    
 “Oh.” Chigusa blinked. “So you’re just starting to go into crowds of people?”  
    
 Gou smiled. “Yep.”  
    
 “By chance we bumped into each other then?”  
    
 “It was luck.”  
    
 “ _Good_ luck!”  
    
 Both girls burst into a laughing fit.  
    
 Makoto glanced to Ai; they didn’t have to say anything to know what each other was thinking.  
    
 Something beeped.  
    
 Makoto checked his phone. “Text from Rin.” His eyes shifted right and left over and over.  
    
  _[Rin: Mr Irisface is awake but rly fucking grumpy tho Sousuke wants to thro a sleeping spell on him but Nagi says thats a bad idea… Think you can keep him contained for a bit? Nagi also says he shouldn't be movin yet so…?]_  
    
 Makoto stood up and felt their eyes on him. “Sorry. They say Haru’s better.”  
    
 Chigusa looked at the other two. “Something happened?”  
    
 “It’s uh…” Gou winced.  
    
 “Confidential.” Chigusa waved her hand. “I heard nothing.”  
    
 Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. I’m… going to go see him.”  
    
 Nitori stood as well. “Do you want us to come too?”  
    
 “No, it’s okay. I think he’ll want to be alone for a while, even if I’m there.” He bowed quickly. “Nice meeting you, Chi-san.” He checked his phone again and left.  
    
 Gou swallowed hard.  
    
 Aiichiro took his seat and bit his lip.  
    
 Chigusa glanced to the table. “Oh.” She reached over and grabbed a Styrofoam cup. “He forgot his coffee. I’ll give it to him.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Makoto!”  
    
 Makoto paused, looking over his shoulder. “Huh?”  
    
 “Here.” Chigusa offered the coffee cup. “You left this.”  
    
 “Oh wow.” Makoto took it with a smile. “Thanks. You didn’t have to.”  
    
 Chigusa didn’t reply right away.  
    
 Makoto tilted his head.  
    
 “I know we just met, again, Tachibana-san, but… let’s talk.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “I _will_ find who put me in danger.” Haruka’s hand squeezed the thick blanket over his lower body. “Whether you like it or not… so. Get. Out. Of my way.”  
    
 “Haru-chan…” Nagisa’s frown intensified. Left hand in a fist, it began to shake with suppressed anger. “I give up, damnit!” He stood up and huffed. “No fucking logic works on you, does it? You and your stupid tunnel vision!”  
    
 Haruka winced.  
    
 “Nagisa!” Rei shouted, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Please…”  
    
 Nagisa huffed again, crossing his arms, and turning away.  
    
 Haruka glanced sidelong at them. “Where’s Momo?”  
    
 Rei blinked. “Momo?”  
    
 “Momotarou… Mikoshiba.”  
    
 Nagisa, although not at his potential, felt a rift of Haruka’s energy when the last name was spoken. He turned around.  
    
 The wooden sliding door of the shrine opened, and a breeze of cold wind fluttered in. Makoto stepped in hastily, and closed the door behind him. “I just spoke with Sensei. She’s been drained dry… anyway, I overheard, Momo went out with Sousuke from what I understand. They went to get groceries, since he’s also utterly drained trying to stabilise you.”  
    
 “Finally!” Nagisa yelled, stomping over to Makoto. “Where the hell have you been? What took you so long!?”  
    
 “Nagisa,” Rei whispered. “Enough.”  
    
 Nagisa turned around, glaring. “His boyfriend’s half dead and Makoto’s just dilly-dallying!”  
    
 “Nagisa,” Makoto said softly. “Haru’s tougher than that.”  
    
 Nagisa turned back at him, putting both hands in front of his chest. “But!”  
    
 “I know you’re worried, but don’t coddle him.”  
    
 “But!”  
    
 “It’s okay.” Makoto ruffled Nagisa’s hair and walked past him.  
    
 Rei put an arm around the blond. “How about we make hot cocoa?”  
    
 Nagisa sighed. “Sure, whatever.”  
    
 Makoto walked over to Haru, who had said nothing through the entire exchange. He figured Nagisa would be back soon enough—he always managed to burn something and get kicked out of the kitchen. Makoto walked over to the futon. He sat down, cross-legged, and put his hands in his lap.  
    
 Haruka just sighed, not bothering to make eye contact.  
    
 “So, where’s Rin?”  
    
 Haruka looked over.  
    
 “He’s… your protector, isn’t he?”  
    
 “What?”  
    
 “If it’s not him, it’s usually someone else. Right?”  
   
 Haruka frowned, tilting his head.   
   
 “Nothing.” Makoto smiled. “Where’s Rin?”  
    
 “Out.” Haruka felt uneasiness tense his shoulders. “Scanning for traces of the spirit essence.”  
    
 “He won’t find any. It probably diffused already.”  
    
 “It doesn’t diffuse that fast.”  
    
 “Well, not normally,” Makoto agreed. “But with us being so close to the Nexus Reversal, and this Shrine being a four point Nexus…” He saw the questioning look on Haruka’s face and he held back the urge to sigh. “Well this entire shrine counts as a Sector Two, and the outskirts are a Sector Three. But this close to the reversal, it’s pretty much a Sector One. Stray spirit essence begins to denature and break down around Sector Two, and… yeah. Since this is a Sec’ One, it’ll make it more potent, more wild, and unpredictable I guess.”  
    
 Haruka glanced away. Why didn’t he think of that? “Thanks.”  
    
 “Thanks? For what?”  
    
 “For not… chastising me. Telling me you could have warned me… even though you have every right to.”  
    
 “Wouldn’t solve anything, Haru. You wouldn’t even listen.”  
    
 Haruka swallowed hard, keeping his eyes down at his lap. “You’re mad at me.”  
    
 “Not mad.”  
    
 “Upset?”  
    
 “Annoyed.”  
    
 Haruka took a silent deep breath and looked back at Makoto, noting how those green were filled with something Haruka didn’t quite know how to define.  
    
 “You…” Makoto huffed. “You never ask me to do anything, you know? Yeah, I know I joke that I’m a housewife, but that doesn’t mean I’m useless. And it doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. Rin’s not working either. He and I are in the same boat, but it’s… never me, is it? You bother Sousuke and Ai, and Rin, and just… everyone you can get your hands on… but you won’t even tell me what’s going on. I’ve learned… not to even ask.”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes softened. The words to deny it were in the back of his throat, but he knew putting them out there would be a lie.  
    
 “Oh well.” Makoto shook his head. He was about to stand when,  
    
 “Stay.”  
    
 Makoto paused.  
    
 “I want you… to stay,” Haru admitted. “Please.”  
    
 Makoto seemed to consider it for a moment before sighing, giving in. “What’s going on, Haru?”  
    
 “I’ll figure it out by myself.” Haruka paused, realising what he said. Shame was a hand squeezing the life out of his throat. He looked away. “Sorry.”  
    
 “Don’t be.”  
    
 “I…” Haruka closed his eyes. He breathed through his nose. “I know you want to help…”  
    
 “It’s okay, but please… don’t apologise when you’re not really sorry.”  
    
 The knife in Haruka’s stomach twisted and he cringed. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut.  
    
 “It’s okay.” Makoto smiled. “Even if you got me on board, I won’t have the time.”  
    
 Haruka looked at him. “What?”  
    
 “I’m preparing a trip, with some old friends, so I’ll be gone for a while.”  
    
 Haruka opened his eyes, frown creasing his forehead.  
    
 “I’m… really just, getting really kinda passive aggressive I guess? I’m frustrated, all the time, at everything.” Makoto sighed. “So I think it’ll be good for me.”  
    
 “Wh-Why?”  
    
 “I’m really cooped up on the island. I’m just in that house for most of the day, no neighbours. I have Salmon and Tuna of course, but that’s not always enough. And I know I’m always welcome here, but… I said something to Sousuke and I think he’d rather not talk to me. I also don’t really want to talk to Rin right now, so it just doesn’t seem like a good idea.”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes narrowed. “Where are you going?”  
    
 “Hmmm, somewhere… West, I think.”  
    
 “Why?”  
    
 “It’s like a road trip, kind of.”  
    
 “But…” Haruka’s chest squeezed.  
    
 “It’s okay.” Makoto held up his phone. “I already asked Momo over text. He’ll take care of the cats since he’s amazing with them. I told him to take Rei’s spare key to our house… not that we ever really lock the door.”  
    
 “Stop it.”  
    
 Makoto blinked twice. “Huh?”  
    
 “You’re…” Haruka looked down. “Scaring me.”  
    
 “What?”  
    
 “You… don’t…”  
    
 “Haru?”  
    
 “You…” Haruka breathed heavy for a moment. “You’re not the kind of person, who acts like this, on impulse… you, you plan things months in advance. This isn’t you.”  
    
 “I know it’s not.” Makoto rubbed the back of his head and laughed. “But that’s kinda why I’m doing it. I got the chance today, so why not right? Do something I’ve never done!”  
    
 “I’m in danger!” Haruka yelled, pathetic and loud. It silenced all other thought. He looked down in his lap. “Just…” Haruka closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Stop it. Don’t… I don’t like this…”  
    
 Makoto stared at him in silence.  
    
 A minute or two must have passed, but eventually the door opened again.  
    
 Rin undid his ponytail and groaned. “Can’t fucking find anything!” He looked at Makoto. “Oh. Hey. When’d you get here?” He closed the door.  
    
 “Not long ago,” he admitted. Makoto turned to him. “But don’t bother.”  
    
 “Nexus Reversal,” muttered Haruka.  
    
 “Stray spirit essence is wilder and diffuses into the air more frequently.”  
    
 Rin raised his pierced eyebrow. “So…”  
    
 “Haru wasn’t being attacked per se,” Makoto explained, “Traced? Probably. That’s worthy of investigation, but not attacked. It was just the proximity to the centre of the shrine that caused whatever was on him to become violent.”  
    
 Haruka said nothing.  
    
 Rin stared at them for a while before sighing. “Well, shit.”  
    
 “Why?” Haruka whispered.  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Huh?”  
    
 “Why are you leaving? Where are you going? Who are you going with? What are you trying to prove?”  
    
 Rin blinked. “What?”  
    
 “You’re in good hands,” Makoto reassured. “It won’t take long, okay? There’s something I have to do.” He leaned in and tried to kiss Haruka’s forehead.  
    
 But Haruka grabbed his shirt. “Where are you going!?”  
    
 Makoto paused, staring at Haru for a long moment. “Road,” he said clearly, “Trip.”  
    
 “I’m not an idiot,” Haruka seethed. “Where are you going, and why are you hiding secrets from me?”  
    
 Makoto slapped Haru’s hand away. “I’ll be back in a little while,” tenderness was gone from his voice, “If you need me just message me and mark it urgent; that pings my spirit essence.” He stood up slowly. “Just trust me, okay?”  
    
 Haruka took in a sharp breath.  
    
 Rin looked between the two. “Okay, what the fuck is going on here?”  
    
 “Nothing,” Makoto blatantly lied. “Please take care of him while I’m gone.” He bowed to Rin once and then walked past him.  
    
 “Wait,” Rin called out. He turned and watched Makoto walk down the steps of the shrine. “Where the fuck are you going?” He watched Makoto walk off to the courtyard and sighed. He closed the door and walked over to Haru. “What the fuck was that?”  
    
 Haruka’s hand turned into a fist around the blanket of the futon. “Track him.”  
    
 Rin raised both eyebrows. “What?”  
    
 “I said… track him.”  
    
 “Makoto?”  
    
 “Who the _fuck else_ could I be talking about?”  
    
 “No. Fuck that.” Rin’s brows knitted together in a scowl. “I’m not fucking doing that.”  
    
 “If you don’t,” Haruka said with a growl in the back of his throat, “I will.”  
    
 “You shouldn’t be incanting anything right now, you shit.” Rin scoffed. “Yo… have you finally fucking lost it? Did you just by happenstance fucking forget everything we learned? We’re a team. A team. We trust each other.”  
    
 “But—”  
    
 “Shut up.” Rin glared daggers. “I don’t know what Makoto’s up to, but I don’t have to know that to trust him. He’ll do his own thing and he’ll come back. If you think he’s taking you in your state right now as no big deal, you’re a fucking idiot. Then you don’t know the Makoto I know. You fucking idiot.”  
    
 Haruka’s hands opened, releasing their tension. “But why? Why is he keeping secrets?”  
    
 “Izanami’s tits!” Rin put both hands over his eyes. “Are you a child?”  
    
 A third voice called out, “Rin.”  
    
 Both of them turned.  
    
 Sousuke stood by the open door, Nagisa by his side. Snowflakes swirled around them before the door was shut. Sousuke shook his head. “You’re not going to get your point across like that, so don’t bother.”  
    
 Rin sighed. “Yes Captain.”  
    
 “But…” Nagisa put his hands together. “Rin’s right. The five of us… are a team. When I, when I turned Chrysalis… that fell apart, you guys fell apart… but…”  
    
 “But why?” Haruka asked, “Why is he hiding things from me?”  
    
 “Haru-chan!”  
    
 Rin made a ‘tsk’ noise.  
    
 Haruka looked at them, feeling as though there was some piece to the puzzle he wasn’t understanding. He tried to figure it out but… Eventually he looked at Sousuke, knowing Captain would tell him.  
    
 “Haru,” Sousuke spoke slowly, “Of all the people who are allowed to complain about other people keeping secrets… you’re not one of them.”  
    
 Haruka stared, eyes twitching before going wide.  
    
 “If secrets are a bad thing,” Sousuke went on, “Then you’re the worst one here. If you really want us to track Makoto, to follow him wherever he’s going… you’ll have to order us, as the Iris. Otherwise, I’m letting him go.”  
    
 “I don’t like his shifty attitude,” Rin admitted. “Something is definitely not right… But of all the people to make stupid choices – Makoto is not one of them.”  
    
 “I know this is all sudden…” Nagisa shook his head. “But I don’t even see what the big problem is. Yeah, he’s acting a bit weird… We all have our moments, right? Just let him do his own thing.”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes softened. Everything from his gut to his heart was telling him to chase Makoto. His very core was crying out that something horrible would happen. But, he closed his eyes, and he said it: “Fine.”


	5. Distortion of Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe, thank you for the comments so far. They're really fueling me. >:3
> 
> * * *

 Sousuke had his blade in hand. He ran around the building, slicing through a blockade and charging his way. The storm clouds above meant little—even as lightning struck only meters away from him, he pressed on. His breathing was heavy, but he _had_ to keep moving. When he skid around the corner, his eyes locked against the two elementalists battling it out. Fire against fire. “Now’s my chance!” He tossed himself in the air—blessing the distortion for its lower gravity—and swung his blade.  
    
 He tore the witches spine apart.  
    
 Blood sprayed everywhere.  
    
 Sousuke’s eyes only narrowed.  
    
 Another witch looked up in confusion.  
    
 And Sousuke used that confusion to his advantage. The rune on his blade changed and he swung again, unleashing three orbs of darkness. The explosion took out his enemy and he back flipped, landing with his feet grinding against asphalt.  
    
 Beams of light rained down.  
    
 One speared his left shoulder. He hissed, grabbing the bloody wound. Sousuke’s eyes flicked up to where their leader was. Another quick shift in runes shifted the spirit essence formation of his weapon. He moved his right hand back… and threw his blade forward.  
    
 In the air his blade acted like a boomerang, spinning wildly.  
    
 It sliced through the last witch.  
    
 His blade came back and Sousuke caught it.  
    
 “Captain!” one of the supports yelled.  
    
 “Begin the transport!” Sousuke demanded. “Now!”  
    
 Three witches created arcane circles underneath themselves and channeled forward.  
    
 Sousuke looked around, watching the distortion break apart. The bodies of the dead witches began to crumble. They were zombies, after all. He scanned the area one more time.  
    
 “Portal ready, Sir!”  
    
 “Go!” Sousuke yelled. He waited until they were all gone before he threw himself into the portal.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Momotarou hummed a song he made when he was five, it was about beetles, as he brought the tray of drinks forward. He put the tray on the low table and began serving a mug of hot cocoa to everyone. There was one, of course, with twice as much whipped cream and chocolate drizzle and cinnamon and everything. “Here.”  
    
 Sousuke took it with a smile. “Thanks.” He pondered saying or not saying it, but eventually he decided why not: “You don’t have to worry about me.”  
    
 “Huh?”  
    
 Sousuke glanced to his left shoulder, which had been cleaned and bandaged. “I can feel you sensing into my wound.”  
    
 “Aha!” Momotarou jumped up and continued to laugh nervously since he didn’t know what else to do.  
    
 Sousuke pretended it wasn’t utterly adorable. “I don’t mind, but I’m alright. The Guardian Wing wouldn’t let me walk around if I wasn’t.”  
    
 “I-I know.”  
    
 Rei took his mug, pretty sure he was forgotten between the two of them. “So, what made you want to work for The Eye again? Didn’t you say you wanted to take time off?”  
    
 “Mm, world’s not that simple.” Sousuke sighed. “Distortions are getting stronger, so Haru requested me back.”  
    
 “Mhm!” Nagisa said after he finished his mug. “Strong witches are easy to find, you know? Strong leaders, not so much – but strong witches who are also strong leaders like Captain-chan are very very rare.”  
    
 Sousuke laughed. “Thanks.”  
    
 “Momo-chan, you got your eyes on a fine piece of witch-ass!”  
    
 “Nagisa!” Rei yelled.  
    
 Sousuke coughed.  
    
 “So, anyway…” Momotarou took his seat and wiggled. “What do you even do in these… distortions? Close them?”  
    
 “Well… Distortions close on their own. It’s when a witch goes rogue and makes use of a distortion that it persists. That’s when we have a problem.”  
    
 “A distortion,” Nagisa said with a finger up, “Is exactly what it sounds like, a bend in reality! Ooo! Spooky, spooky, spooky! It can even be a place where the scientific laws and forces of the universe aren’t the same. It’s really scary! You can even cast a spell you’ve been using forever and it’ll come out completely different!”  
    
 “Yes.” Sousuke chuckled. “Like when Nagisa blasted me in the face.”  
    
 Nagisa gasped. “I was trying to heal you, Captain-chan!”  
    
 Sousuke laughed at the old memory. “I know.”  
    
 Rei frowned. “I’ve never heard about these distortions until recently… Was there any kind of onset?”  
    
 “Um.” Sousuke winced. “Well that’s complicated. But they’re not usually a problem… Whenever one comes up, though, you can bet your ass a witch is going to try and make it their domain. But it’s never been this frequent. Some people theorise it’s to do with the Nexus Reversal, but… that doesn’t add up.”  
    
 Momotarou tilted his head. “So why do these distortions happen in the first place? Why would the laws of the universe just… distort?”  
    
 “That’s…” Sousuke took a breath. “Complicated to answer.”  
    
 “There’s a simple version!” Nagisa laughed. “Basically, it’s because it’s the law of the universe allow distortions to happen.”  
    
 Rei frowned. “I’m still very confused. What could possibly cause a bend in reality?”  
    
 Nagisa’s smile faded and he looked away.  
    
 Sousuke swallowed hard. “Chrysalises have been known to cause them.”  
    
 “So…” Momotarou glanced at him. “It’s an after effect of Nagisa going batshit crazy?”  
    
 “That’s Haru’s theory,” Sousuke said in a neutral voice. “Of course, I don’t want to say it, but…”  
    
 “Psions,” Nagisa muttered. “I came to the same conclusion.”  
    
 Sousuke blinked. “How?”  
    
 “I’m not dumb!” Nagisa huffed, cheeks puffing up.  
    
 Sousuke smiled and laughed. “Sorry.”  
    
 “I just…” Nagisa grabbed Rei’s mug of hot cocoa. “I don’t wanna say it, but psions and Chrysalises are related, aren’t they? So then if that beast can cause a distortion… then maybe…”  
    
 Rei raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think… Kou, is somehow, causing them, do you?”  
    
 Nagisa sipped Rei’s hot cocoa.  
    
 Momoatou shook his head. “If Kou is causing them, then why isn’t Ai?”  
    
 “He could be,” Sousuke admitted. “He could very well have been causing them all his life… we just didn’t know the difference since he’s always been around.”  
    
 Nagisa shook his head. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions, okay?”  
    
 Rei nodded. “That’s right; it’s best we keep a broad perspective.”  
    
 “And…” Momotarou felt a shiver. “I think it’s best we keep this between us… like, if we tell Kou… she’ll freak out. If we tell Ai, he’ll get nervous. Rin would just punch us in the throat… but Makoto and Haru? I think they’re kinda smart enough to figure it out eventually, right?”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
  “Are you…” Gou took a deep breath. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”  
    
 “Nanase-san thought so,” Nitori pointed out, “And Miss Amakata also approved.”  
    
 They were at the treatment centre of the Guardian Wing, where spells were being performed. The spirit essence in the air constantly shifted, which is why it was the next step for Gou. She needed to be attuned to other people casting spells around her.  
    
 “I’ll be okay.” Gou’s eyes were wide. “I wish Rin was here though.”  
    
 Nitori smiled at her. “I can ask him to come.”  
    
 “Maybe later,” Gou said in a whisper. “He’s taking care of Haru right now.”  
    
 “Wanna come back with him?”  
    
 “N-No, I’m okay. I’m just scared. Thanks, Ai.” Gou looked at him. “For being supportive.”  
    
 “It’s okay,” he assured. “That’s what friends are for.”  
    
 Gou smiled. “Okay. Let’s go.”  
    
 The walk through the Guardian Wing was nerve-racking. Gou felt other people’s spirit essence cling to her clothes, like walking through a dusty room. Her fingers twitched. She was constantly swallowing hard. Her breathing was a bit uneasy. But, at the same time, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. There was comfort in that. Enough comfort to keep her taking another step and another. Eventually they were walking back towards the exit when she heard a familiar voice and paused. She looked left first, but saw an empty bed, but when she looked right,  
    
 “Alright, you just tell anyone if it hurts again, okay?”  
    
 “Okay.”  
    
 Chigusa smiled and patted the soldier on the shoulder before turning around. She blinked twice before her eyes widened. “Kou?”  
    
 Gou smiled. “H-Hi.”  
    
 Chigusa walked over and put her hands on Gou’s shoulders. “Are you hurt? Where? I’ll heal it.”  
    
 “N-No, no.” Gou smiled. “I’m okay. I’m just walking through.”  
    
 “Oh.” Chigusa breathed a sigh of relief. “Scared me… Just walking through, huh? Enjoying the view?”  
    
 Gou tilted her head. “The view?”  
    
 Nitori nudged her. “It’s a joke.”  
    
 “Oh!” Gou laughed. “Sorry.”  
    
 Chigusa just smiled. “It’s okay.” She glanced to her bracelet. “I get off in thirty minutes if you want to go for coffee? We don’t have to if you don’t want.”  
    
 “I’d like that,” Gou admitted. “That would be really nice, actually.”  
    
 Nitori smiled. “We’ll see you there.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Sorry I’m late!” Chigusa bowed before taking her seat next to Gou. “The Wing is just working us into overdrive.” She quickly tapped away at the menu on the table.  
    
 Nitori’s eyes softened. “Is it that bad?”  
    
 “It’s not too bad, but… just a lot of distortions, so a lot of friendly fire and some strange things we have to cure.” Chigusa shook her head. “I’d rather be working in the Wing than the ones actually going in, though.”  
    
 “Hey…” Gou looked at her. “Rin, my brother, told me once that… Is it true, zombies are real?”  
    
 Chigusa nodded.  
    
 Nitori paled. “Do they eat brains?”  
    
 “No!” Chigusa laughed. “No they’re nothing like the ones in the movies or anything.”  
    
 Gou sighed of relief. “That’s good to hear! But… then, what are they?”  
    
 “Well…” Chigusa blinked. “Uh, distortions exist outside of time, and space, and spacetime. Well… time is a human construct, but to exist outside of what we know as time means to exist outside of growth, life, and death. Time is the fourth dimension, though… but, yeah, it’s complicated.”  
   
 Gou blinked. “You don’t say.”  
   
 “Yeah,” she went on, “Um… a witch who becomes the centre of a distortion would then, theoretically speaking, exist outside of time and space. They won’t age. And, better yet, they might even be able to control their age, or growth, and go back in time. If you chop of their arm, they can just go back to before that happened. A lot of older witches dream of going back to their prime… It’s kind of like athletes, but mental decline doesn’t start until much later though.”  
    
 Nitori fidgeted in his chair. “So, wait… They can make use of distortions, and technically live forever.”  
    
 “But, why?” Gou looked at the table. “Who would want to live forever? I mean, really? I get it if people want more time… but why forever? Who?”  
    
 Chigusa looked at her. “People who have motives.”  
    
 “Motives?”  
    
 “Ever see someone who is so fiercely driven you just want to get out of their way? If they have a goal that is bigger than themselves, and they won’t be able to achieve it before their time’s up… those kind of people. There are other reasons. People who have something to protect. People who have something to hide. Those kinds of people, that kind of person… is the most dangerous of all.”  
    
 “Dangerous?” Gou tilted her head. “Because they won’t let anything get between them and their goal?”  
    
 Chigusa nodded. “Those who use distortions to accomplish their tasks are called zombies – the people who gave up their normal lives to be eternally frozen in time.”  
    
 Nitori shivered. “Scary…”  
    
 Chigusa looked at him. “I bet you two could do something about distortions, though, right?” She saw his confusion, so she clarified, “As psions.” Both of them stared at her. “Uhhh.” Chigusa shrugged. “I don’t know much about psions… but my friend? The one they locked away? She distorted reality with her mind… and I mean, she distorted reality. With her mind.”  
    
 Gou frowned. “That’s something I don’t understand.”  
    
 “Huh?” Chigusa cocked her head. “Which part?”  
    
 “The whole… distorting reality with our mind. What’s the difference between a normal spirit art and a psion’s? I don’t get it. Creating fire out of nothing is distorting reality… isn’t it?”  
    
 Chigusa shook her head. “Spirit essence and witchcraft, even rituals about communing with the dead are lawful processes. And I don’t mean they’re good or evil, but like it goes with the scientific laws of the universe. Spirit essence is a force; it can be mathematically quantified, predicted, and so on. Professors, and even software programs like Ritius, can calculate all the forces that go into a ritual.”  
    
 Gou felt a squeeze in her stomach.  
    
 Chigusa went on: “When an elementalist creates fire, that’s the same as regular fire. The strongest water elementalists can merge the hydrogen and oxygen in the air to create torrents. Every spell – even if it looks crazy or rapid – is the same as any other action that happens in this world.”  
    
 Nitori looked at the table. “A lawful process?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Chigusa nodded. “It doesn’t go against the order of the universe, so it’s lawful. Now, it’s a hidden process, extremely hard to analyze, and super hard to understand. But it can be broken down into an equation. Given… for the more complex rituals, it will take years and years and years before we understand everything, but, never know right?”  
    
 Nitori nodded. “Yeah.”  
    
 “So…” Gou looked at her hands. “Psions, don’t? We really… manipulate reality?”  
    
 “I guess.” Chigusa shrugged. “A lot of people don’t like calling witchcraft or rituals or spirit arts ‘Magic’ because magic usually implies that it isn’t scientific. I mean, even the soul and the spirit are scientific forces – there are things they do and don’t do, shared properties that can be analysed, and so on. But psions… I don’t know. Some people think psions really use… magic.”  
    
 Gou’s eyes widened.  
    
 “I’m sorry!” Chigusa irked. “I didn’t mean to scare you…” She scratched her head. “We can only theorise, you know? Maybe psions are just as lawful as the rest of us, and maybe they have their own laws. There’s a huge difference between something being ‘indescribable’ and ‘indescribable at this time’.”  
    
 “Answers are out there,” Nitori said, “But we might never know them.”  
    
 “Exactly,” Chigusa said with a smile.  
    
 “Hm.” Gou looked away.  
    
 Nitori eyed her for a moment before he looked back. “Chigusa, you seem to know a lot about psions.”  
    
 “I wish I knew more,” she admitted. “I just do a lot of reading on it.”  
    
 “None of what I’ve read talk about these kinds of things, though.” Nitori’s smile became lopsided. “Well, I’m, I’m mostly reading the reports The Eye finds most helpful. I think it’s probably better to have more than one group’s opinion on what ‘helpful’ means.”  
    
 Gou nodded.  
    
 Chigusa smiled. “I’m sure The Eye wants to help, but if you want me to recommend some other literature on it, I can. Though… a lot of it is hard to find. Before now, and well even now, nobody wants anyone else to have an opinion on psions… it’s one of those things The Eye tucks under the rug and refuses to talk about it. When people write papers… they get ignored, or aren’t published.”  
    
 Nitori nodded slowly. “Right.”  
    
 “I have some, and all in digital.” Chigusa took out her phone. “I can send them to you if you want?”  
    
 “Me too?” Gou asked.  
    
 “Sure!” Chigusa offered her phone. “Just put yourself in my contacts.”  
    
 “My name’s spelled with a ‘G’,” Gou explained. “But it’s pronounced Kou.”  
    
 Nitori smiled. “Thanks, Chi. You’re a huge help.”  
    
 Chigusa chuckled. “Aha, you’re gonna make me blush!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “Oy.” Rin sat cross-legged next to Haru. “Why are you so angry all the time?”  
   
 Haruka glared at him.   
   
 “Tsk.” Rin put his hands behind his head and leaned back until he had his back against the floor. “Not trusting Makoto is the dumbest thing you could even do.”  
   
 “Hm.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
    
  
  _“Makoto!”  
    
 Makoto paused, looking over his shoulder. “Huh?”  
    
 “Here.” Chigusa offered the coffee cup. “You left this.”  
    
 “Oh wow.” Makoto took it with a smile. “Thanks. You didn’t have to.”  
    
 Chigusa didn’t reply right away.  
    
 Makoto tilted his head.  
    
 “I know we just met, again, Tachibana-san, but… let’s talk.”  
    
 Makoto squeezed the Styrofoam cup. “I’m kind of in a hurry…”  
    
 “I’ll be quick.” Chigusa stepped forward. She eyed him once, crow’s feet forming at the corners of her eyes as she tried to suppress a frown. “I’m a support witch, mainly in sensory. My strength lies in tuning into shifts of spirit essence. Even for people I’ve never met before, I can tell when they’re not at their… usual composure, so to speak.”  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened. “Wow, you must be one heck of a witch.”  
    
 “Not really.” Chigusa shook her head. “I’m just specialised… I’m not that great on other things, though! But… yours.” She stared at him for a long moment. “It’s unsteady… and unsettling. I’m, I’m not going to pretend I know your life or anything like that, but… take care of yourself, please. There’s something… very dark, pooling in you right now.”  
    
 Makoto opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came.  
    
 “I’m sorry!” Chigusa bowed quickly before coming right back up. “I think I overstepped the boundaries.”  
    
 “N-No,” Makoto managed to say. “It’s okay, thank you. I’m trying… to help, Haru, others… But maybe I’m not focusing enough on myself, or something. I don’t want…” He looked down. “I don’t want to bring the others down, like I always do…”  
    
 Chigusa eyed him for a moment before looking at her coffee cup. “Just do what you have to for you, or just try.”  
    
 “Right.” Makoto smiled. “Thanks.”  
    
 Chigusa nodded._  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haru was able to walk again after a couple day of rest and he returned to work within a week. The paperwork was going to pile up endlessly on his desk, given the timing of the events, but the other councillors split the load and got it done. He was thankful for that. To the councillors, he explained the assault, and it was the Oceanic Councillor who insisted he take some time off ‘for himself’.  
    
 They all knew what he was saying.  
    
 Take the time off and find the fucker who did this.  
    
 He was more than grateful.  
    
 Haruka stood in one of the briefing rooms. It had a large window which brought in a dim blue light from the storm clouds above. He put his hand on the glass, feeling the frost move through his skin. The investigation had to commence. He turned around and stared at the three in front of him. He didn’t want any of them meddling in his affairs, but…  
    
 Sousuke crossed his arms, waiting patiently.  
    
 Rin had a hand on his hip, scowl on his face, waiting not-as-patiently.  
    
 Nitori seemed nervous and looked like he wouldn’t mind waiting forever.  
    
 Haruka would have reconstructed the old team, but Nagisa – as he was now – was useless. And Makoto… wasn’t on their side. Not the way Haru needed. He knew they were staring, waiting, so he decided to just get it over with. “You don’t have to help.”  
    
 “We want to,” insisted Rin.  
    
 “Hm.” Sousuke cocked his head to the side. “This is too much for one person. You know that.”  
    
 Haruka held back the urge to roll his eyes. “I believe I’m dealing with a psion.”  
    
 Nitori stiffened, swallowing hard.  
    
 “I have no direction,” Haruka admitted. “But I’ll find it. Until then, stay on the lookout for any information.”  
    
 Rin ‘tsk’d. “That’s it? That’s fucking it?”  
    
 Nitori whispered, “Rin.”  
    
 “Distortions,” Sousuke offered. “They seem to be on the rise. Are we going to act as though they’re separate events?”  
    
 “Unknown,” Haruka replied. “We can’t assume they are. I have a feeling they’re related, though… Move forward with an open mind.”  
    
 “Yo.” Rin hummed. “What about the tower? Hook Ai up.”  
    
 Sousuke raised an eyebrow. “Possibly—he could track down other psions, hypothetically speaking anyway.”  
    
 “The Council would have my head.” Haruka crossed his arms, looking down. “I thought about it, but connecting a psion to that…”  
    
 “Um?” Nitori nudged Rin. “What’s the tower?”  
    
 “Well The Eye’s got this big pillar-thing, see? It’s right at the centre. It’s a huge radio tower… well, okay it’s not a radio, but when it was built it was a radio tower, so everyone calls it the Radio Tower.”  
    
 “Yes.” Sousuke uncrossed his arms. “It’s every support witch’s dream to be hooked up to that.”  
    
 “Not just supports!” Rin laughed. “I want to get hooked up to that thing too. It connects to every satellite and information database in the world, security cameras, even personal cell phones of every individual. It’s like the centre of anything digital. You can see everything that can be seen in the whole world.”  
    
 “More,” Haruka added. “You see everything that can’t be seen too, if you’re good enough.”  
    
 “You mean.” Nitori swallowed hard. “Distortions?”  
    
 Sousuke pursed his lips. “They’re the growing problem.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haruka had sent them off with little leads. It wasn’t the right thing to do; in fact, it may have been the worst thing to do, but it was what he had to do nonetheless. Rin and Ai would probably work together to find something, while Sousuke would work on his own, possibly consulting Nagisa and Rei or Sensei. That would get them out of his hair. Make them feel useful so they left him alone. He walked to his office and approached the centre of his room. With a shift in his spirit energy, his desk reclined and folded against the wall. The large monitor on the side lifted off the wall.  
    
 He waved his hand.  
    
 Out of the ground, several monitors shot out in a perfect circle.  
    
 Haruka snapped his finger.  
    
 The lights dimmed and turned off. The room lit up bright blue.  
    
 Haruka closed his eyes and moved his hands to the side. His cape fluttered. He tethered his spirit essence into cords and thousands shot out, hooking up to the monitors. He put his hands together and formed a globe of water. The globe began to grow and grow, swishing violently until it was larger than himself.  
    
 The globe began to define, shaping the continents and islands of the world.  
    
 Haruka lifted off the ground.  
    
 The Radio Tower would be too wide, what he needed was…  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Kisumi!”  
    
 He didn’t reply.  
    
 Seijuro stomped down the clean and pristine cathedral. Desperately searching for an answer, neither of them lit the candles. So instead of smelling of frankincense, it smelled septic, like a hospital. Seijuro’s nostrils flared. “It’s getting worse! At this rate, I won’t be able to…”  
    
 Kisumi looked over his shoulder, worry flooding his eyes. He looked forward again and crossed his arms. “They won’t speak to me; I try, and I try… but I’m not… We’re powerless here.”  
    
 “Something is happening to the seal.” Seijuro paused before the steps leading to the altar. “It’s like… someone’s unweaving it. And I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do!”  
    
 “No one’s unweaving it, little one.”  
    
 “What? Then what the hell is going on!?”  
    
 “That seal…” Kisumi turned around and pointed at him. “Is directly linked to _all_ of that old hag’s tamperings.”  
    
 “But…” Seijuro scowled. “She told us herself… Nagisa’s dead.”  
    
 “I know that, but he’s not the only one. Remember?” Kisumi tilted his head. “There were others… Each one were undone and redone by her mind. We have to find the origin, and bring them here before the Terror Child truly awakens.”  
    
 “Terror Child.” Seijuro put his hand over his heart. “Wait, you mean…?”  
    
 Kisumi nodded. “The reason we’ve been trapped between time, forced into this place.”  
    
 “Shit… shit!” Seijuro put both hands in his hair. For what felt like thousands of years, he meditated day after day, containing the rage threatening to spill from him at any moment. “So I’m just, I’m just this ticking time bomb, and meanwhile, out there, some kid… well, shit! She’s probably all grown up, and putting the pieces together of who she is! Can’t you do something, Kisumi?”  
    
 Kisumi closed his eyes. “Do I look like a psion to you? Hazuki is dead. The only psion with enough power to help you is her student…”  
    
 “Ai?” Seijuro’s eyes widened. “Little Ai… I’ll find him! I’ll fucking find him… I don’t, I don’t know if they took him away or what… but I’ll find them. If he can fix this, I’ll find him!”  
    
 “But—”  
    
 “What other choice do I fucking have?”  
    
 Kisumi shook his head. “You still don’t get it. Neither of us know if Ai is even alive, or powerful enough to redo what Hazuki has done, but if he is staying at the shrine – where your little brother and our family used to stay… Chiyo’s seal was on everyone. Your presence will awaken memories long forgotten. You will unweave yourself.”  
    
 Seijuro put both his hands in his hair. “Shit… What can I even do?”  
    
 “I do not know.” Kisumi turned looking up to the stained glass, where three images filtered light.  
    
 The first one was a blond with pink eyes, visible from the waist up, hand over his heart, being burned alive by black fires. The second was an image of a man with a gun in his hand, and that hand over his heart, chains pooling under his chin like a necklace. The third and fourth remained a blur, but the fifth had been visible since the first day. Orange and white, the glass depicted Seijuro with a hand over his heart, being burned alive by white fires.  
    
 Seijuro blinked. “The blue one… When did that…?”  
    
 “Recently.”  
    
 “Who is that?”  
    
 “I… I don’t know.” Kisumi closed his eyes. “If Chiyo was still with us, she’d be able to tell us if this person is related, or is he just a red herring? If any other psion were here… Who is he? Is he a psion? Is he who we’re looking for? Who you’re supposed to find? Is he the origin?”  
    
 “I don’t have time for speculations.” Seijuro took a deep breath. “I can’t stay here…”  
    
 Kisumi’s hands turned to fists. Pink petals fluttered around him and he sighed.  
    
 “Kisumi, if you’re going to hold this cathedral, and keep it standing…”  
    
 “Maybe…” he whispered, “Maybe it’s best to let it fall. The doings of the Hazukis will be undone.”  
    
 “No.” Seijuro glared. “Rei, Ai…”  
    
 “And your brother,” Kisumi added, “Depend on this cathedral, whether they know it or not. So, then. You’ll leave? You’ll go beyond these walls?”  
    
 Seijuro nodded. “What we have to is…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Investigate,” Makoto said as he zipped up his backpack. “I know Haru’s going to find it, but…” He grabbed several supplies from his chest of witching tools and stuffed them in his pocket. “Maybe I am going behind his back, but I’m going to do my own investigation. So, for now…”  
    
    
 In Haruka’s office, he channelled his energy into a sphere. “I’ll find you.”  
    
    
 In the cathedral, Seijuro looked up to Kisumi. “I’ll find a cure.”  
    
    
 Back home, Makoto looked at himself in the mirror. “I’ll do what I have to do.”


	6. Axe of Mind

_The two of them were walking home. Haruka had his eyes to the floor. Makoto looked up to the clouds. Their backpacks were on their backs. School uniforms. Fifteen. Makoto was smiling; Haruka was not. Nothing exciting happened to Makoto that day but for Haru… Makoto was content with silence. Haruka was not.  
    
 “I kissed Rin.”  
    
 Makoto’s smile dropped. He stopped walking, looking sidelong.  
    
 Haruka kept walking.  
    
 Makoto forced a smile and quickly caught up. “Oh? You… kissed, Rin?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 “Wow…” Makoto kept smiling. “I’m… I’m so happy for you guys.” He looked to the ground, kicking a leaf that got in his way. “I always knew you’d be boyfriends. That’s great! It’s… great. Yeah.”  
    
 “I…” Haruka looked up to the sky.  
    
 “Hm?”  
    
 “I don’t know… I really don’t.”  
    
 “Uh…? Well, y-you don’t know what, Haruka?”  
    
 Haru winced. Makoto used his full name. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what that meant. “I don’t know if I like Rin.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Why did you kiss him then?”  
    
 “He said… it would be cool to kiss someone, and then he asked me. I said sure, I guess.”  
    
 “Yeah? What was it like?”  
    
 “I don’t know,” Haruka muttered. “Weird. It was weird. I don’t like kissing.”  
    
 “Oh.” Makoto looked at him tentatively. “You sure? Maybe you need to find the right person.” His eyes went back down to the ground, cheeks still with a bit of baby fat left began to warm. “I mean, maybe we could, um…”  
    
 “I don’t know if I like Rin,” Haruka changed the subject.  
    
 “Mhm?” Makoto’s face was beet red.  
    
 “I thought… if I kissed him, I’d find out. Like in the movies.”  
    
 “And?”  
    
 Haruka shook his head. “It didn’t tell me anything.”  
    
 Makoto walked up the steps to their house and he opened the door.  
    
 Makoto didn’t talk to him for the rest of the evening._  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Gou’s fingers danced across the keyboard on her phone. She was sitting at the low table in the living room of the shrine. Sousuke sat across from her, analysing some data. Nagisa read up on previous reports, while Rin paced the room. Gou kept typing. Her fingers kept moving. They had been doing so for over twenty minutes now.   
    
 Rin crossed his arms, staring at her. “Yo, who are you even talking to?”  
    
 “Huh?” Gou looked up before the question registered. “Chi.”  
    
 Rin frowned. “Who?”  
    
 “Chigusa.” Gou looked back to her phone. “A friend.”  
    
 “Friend?” Rin tilted his head. “You have friends?”  
    
 Gou looked at him.  
    
 Sousuke coughed. “Rin…”  
    
 Rin looked at him. “What? It’s a good thing! She’s never had friends since y’know, psion things happened. So it’s good! Friends. She’s never had friends!”  
    
 Gou stared.  
    
 Sousuke sighed. “Don’t rub salt in the wound…”  
    
 “But! I’m being good! It’s a good thing!”  
    
 Sousuke just sighed.  
    
 Nitori stepped into the room and by the look on Sousuke’s and Gou’s face he figured something was going on. “Tea, anyone?”  
    
 Rin crossed the distance slipped both arms around Ai’s waist from behind and kissed his neck. “Yes please.”  
    
 Nitori giggled and turned around, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.  
    
 Nagisa didn’t look up from his tablet.  
    
 Sousuke shook his head. “I’ll pass.”  
    
 Nitori looked over his shoulder at him. “Try the tea.”  
    
 “But—”  
    
 “Just try it.”  
    
 Sousuke frowned.  
    
 Momotarou came in, holding a tray with a teapot, several cups, and tea biscuits. He put it down on the low table. “I uh.” He smiled. “Tried to make my own blend of tea! Who wants to try it?”  
    
 Sousuke hid his smile. “I’ll try it.”  
    
 Momotarou’s eyes lit up like a puppy being offered a treat. “Really!?”  
    
 Sousuke nodded.  
    
 Gou rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.  
    
 Nagisa finally looked up. “Food?”   
    
 Rin snorted. “Serve for everyone, Mo’. Where’s Rei?”  
    
 Nagisa glanced over his shoulder. “Working in his office.”  
    
 Sousuke stood up. “I’ll tell him to take a break.”  
    
 “Good!” Nagisa huffed. “He doesn’t listen to me anymore.”  
    
 Nitori wiggled out of Rin’s arms and took a seat. “Nagisa, no one listens to you anymore.”  
    
 Nagisa winced. “Ouch!”  
    
 Momotarou snorted and began pouring into the cups.  
    
 Rin took a seat next to Nitori, shamelessly pulling him into his lap. Nitori of course had no complaints. Rin kissed him softly, wrapping his arms around what was his. Nitori slung an arm around Rin’s neck and leaned in on him. Rin moved some hair out of Ai’s soft blue eyes and then kissed the corner of his eye. They had a moment where they just… stared, at each other. Looked at each other. Saw each other. Endlessly.  
    
 “Ugh,” Nagisa whined. “That’s so not fair! Rei-chan doesn’t look at me like that, and I came back from the dead! Too spooky for him to give me cute looks or something?”  
    
 Nitori glanced over. “He does.”  
    
 Nagisa paused. “What?”  
    
 Gou nodded. “When you’re not looking.”  
    
 Nagisa’s lower lip wibbled. “Really?”  
    
 Gou nodded again. “I can sense it every time. They’re like, shifts in both of your… presence? Aura?”  
    
 Nitori laughed. “Yeah, it’s super noticeable.”  
    
 Momotarou frowned. “I can’t sense that.”  
    
 Nagisa tilted his head. “I’ve never sensed anything like that either, before… when I could sense anyway…”  
    
 Rin rubbed his tongue stud against the roof of his mouth. “Maybe it’s like a psion thing? Emotional shifts, or something. I don’t know.” Everyone stared at him. Rin blinked. “What?”  
    
 Nitori pulled out his phone. “Genius.” He quickly typed it in.  
    
 Rin stared. “Huh? It’s a dumb thought.”  
    
 “It matters,” Sousuke said as he entered the room.  
    
 Rei was behind him. “Indeed. We do not have the wealth of knowledge on psions as we do on the other three branches of spirit arts. Every little hypothesis helps to develop scientific theories.”  
    
 Momotarou put the teacups and their sauces forward. “Here, add some milk if you want.”  
    
 “Momo-chan.” Nagisa grabbed one of the small milk pitchers. “Do you recommend milk?”  
    
 “I think so!” Momo nodded twice. “I kinda added some chocolate flakes and other things, so creamy kinda sounds nice.”  
    
 Nagisa poured some into his teacup. “Kinda sad that we have to go after this.”  
    
 “You’re only going for a checkup.” Gou smiled. “And I’ll be back in a few days.”  
    
 “Yes.” Nitori slipped out of Rin’s lap so he could grab a cup. “And you’ve been making amazing progress, too.”  
    
 Sousuke poured some milk into his, nodding. “Just make sure you get enough rest. You mentioned you don’t sleep as well there, right?”  
    
 Momotarou glanced to Sousuke. “S-So?”  
    
 “Huh?” Sousuke looked at him. “I haven’t tasted it yet.”  
    
 Momotarou wiggled for three years.  
    
 Sousuke smiled and sipped it.  
    
 Momotarou zoomed in on him.  
    
 “It’s good.”  
    
 Momotarou blasted off to the heavens and drifted away.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Miho had just finished for the day. She could barely stand as she made her way to the espresso machine in the lounge for the senior medical staff. She had drained herself removing a spear that had ruptured a witch’s heart. It hadn’t pierced it, but slashed it through the side. Through the yelling and endless channeling, they managed to remove the weapon and put the witch through extensive care. Here she stood, four hours later. The patient was no longer in critical condition.  
    
 She turned on the faucet and washed her hands.  
    
 She had done so before, so her hands were clean, but…  
    
 She never liked the feel of blood on her skin. It never seemed to go away, even when it did.  
    
 The door opened. Miho looked over her shoulder, half expecting it to be someone letting her know that Nagisa and Gou had arrived. Instead, she felt her fingers twitch. “Makoto?”  
    
 “Sh.” Makoto held a finger to his lip.  
    
 Miho turned the handle of the faucet, shutting off the water. She grabbed paper towel and slowly dried her hands. Even in her exhausted state, being as attuned to Makoto’s energy as she was, she knew the sickening feeling she got from him wasn’t normal. “Makoto?”  
    
 “I need your help,” he admitted. He had a backpack on and pockets filled with pouches. “I need your access card.”  
    
 Miho turned to him, eyeing him carefully. “Why?”  
    
 “Portals.”  
    
 “Ask Haruka…” When he didn’t reply, she swallowed hard. “You’re… You can’t ask Haru because you’re going… behind his back, aren’t you?”  
    
 “I’m sorry, Sensei.” Makoto closed his green eyes. “But I have to do this. You know he does everything alone, so please… let me shoulder some of it. Trust me, please…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 It was near the border of Canada and America. A large oil tankard had mysteriously exploded. It happened in year 2036, but even then everyone from The Eye knew it was no silly oil spill. Both countries took the flak of the event. Both were blamed. Environmental groups demanded justice for an event that never actually occurred. In actuality, it was a powerful witch who went rogue. She knew her end was near, so she turned herself into a bomb, turning her very soul into a bomb of concentrated necrotic flesh.   
    
 Makoto had his blade on his back.  
    
 Feathers of light surrounded him, guarding him.  
    
 But even the barrier would hold little.  
    
 Makoto noticed the stray spirit essence swirling around. The spirit essence of the dead—of the ones who refused to die. He knew it would form a creature soon enough, so he began walking, eyes looking to the plants below. The spill didn’t hit the great lakes, luckily, but the toxicity was a problem that wouldn’t be solved for another ten years to come.  
    
 Makoto looked at the flowers.  
    
 Most were dead, but some grew.  
    
 Makoto wasn’t Rin when it came to rituals. Nine out of ten times, Rin got whatever the fuck he wanted out of a ritual. It annoyed Makoto. He would never admit it of course. The average witch had a seventy percent success rate. Rin had ninety-four. Haruka had seventy-eight (considered quite high). Nagisa had sixty-nine, which made Nagisa giggle because sixty-nine. Though Makoto had a feeling it would be much lower with Nagisa’s current issues with witching.  
    
 Sousuke had fifty-two.  
    
 Makoto had forty-eight.  
    
 Of course the raw number didn’t mean everything. Usually, most witches didn’t witch alone. The incantations that mattered needed at least five witches. Makoto wished that he could be like Rin, easily performing a ten-man ritual on his own with the right candles.  
    
 But Makoto had his own way.  
    
 Makoto was good at strategy and analysis. He was good at research. He couldn’t get the perfect accuracy, but he could get the perfect ingredients. When Rin went to Nazuoka, Makoto was the one who stocked him with reagents after all. Makoto couldn’t commune perfectly with spirits, but he could perform the perfect ritual.  
    
 “There!” Makoto ran over.  
    
 Pennyroyal.  
    
 The American false pennyroyal was the herb he needed. For years, they were used to ward off the evil eye and protect witches. But, now. Poisoned. Corrupted. Twisted. Now…  
    
 Makoto grabbed the plastic bag he had brought. He motioned his hand to the flower and two feathers sliced the stem. The feathers whirled around the flower, causing it to levitate. Makoto was careful as he opened the bag and captured the pennyroyal. Closing his eyes, he used a quick seal.  
    
 “If I can’t find the enemy,” Makoto whispered as he stood up, “I’ll force them to find me.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 In the darkness of his office, Haruka’s eyes were glowing blue as the globe of water spun and spun. He analysed each and every ley-line of the planet, desperately trying to find where his assaulter was. If he couldn’t find it, he would have to use the Radio Tower, which risked getting caught. There was, of course, the option of what was build beneath the Radio Tower… Could he use the Tower of the Dead? He… but… Haruka shook his head. Despite the overwhelming sense of pain that riddled through his bones, he pressed on, swirling the water. Where was he? Where was she? Haruka swiped his hand to the side. The globe spun and spun. Haruka’s eyes widened.  
    
 “Wait.” He put his hand to the globe and it morphed. “This…” His eyes widened, glowing brighter. “This spirit essence… This is it.”  
    
 His mind dove into the polygon of water, searching distortions until.  
    
 Haruka choked. _“No!”_  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Miho smiled as she hugged her clipboard. “A whole group of us, huh?”  
    
 Rei nodded. “I’m here as usual.”  
    
 Gou smiled. “I had to come back anyway.”  
    
 “Well.” Nitori moved some of his hair out of his eyes. “I have to formally hand her over.”  
    
 Rin shrugged. “I might as well come.”  
    
 Momotarou sniffled. “I wanted to say goodbye to Nagisa and Kou…” Sniffling once more, Momotarou sobbed and began crying.  
   
 Sousuke sighed. “It’s just a check-up.”  
    
 Nagisa patted his head, abruptly stopping the flow of tears. “I’ll be fine; you know I’m coming back up tonight, right?”  
    
 “But!” Momo hiccupped. “Kou!”  
    
 “Only a few days.” Gou laughed. “We still have a bit longer, but, Nagisa.”  
    
 Nagisa nodded. He opened his arms and hugged Gou tight.  
    
 Gou smiled and hugged him back before pulling away. “Be good! Don’t give Miho any trouble.”  
    
 “Me?” Nagisa gasped. “Give Miss Ama-chan trouble? When would I ever do that?”  
    
 Rei rolled his eyes. “I’ll say goodbye to Gou with the others. I’ll come back for you, Nagisa.”  
    
 Nagisa turned to him and nodded. He jumped up and kissed Rei’s cheek.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Here we go.” Makoto sat down in their living room. He had created a bubble of light to hold the pennyroyal in. He had seen pennyroyal lit many times, although it was usually Rin that did the burning. This time, even if it was something as insignificant as this, Makoto was going to do it alone. He held up the lighter and flicked it, creating sparks and the gas shot into it, igniting. Makoto lead the fire into the bubble of light, and light became lightning as it flashed a brilliance of colour.  
   
 He thought of his desires…   
    
  _Intent._  
   
 He added the details…   
    
  _Focus._  
   
 He mentally whispered the incantation in a song.  
    
  _Will._  
    
 Makoto’s eyes snapped open. “Come find me.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Kou?”  
    
 Gou paused as she walked down the halls. “Chi!”  
    
 Chigusa walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.  
    
 Gou grinned and hugged back. “What are you doing here?”  
    
 “I’m delivering a report to the head of the Guardian Wing,” she said as she waved the papers in her hand. She glanced to the rest of them and smiled coyly. “Wow, a lot of people here. Popular with the boys, huh Kou?”  
    
 “Chi!” Gou laughed. “They’re… turning me back over to The Eye.” She saw her confusion and forced her smile. “I spend three days in containment, four outside.”  
    
 “Oh.” Chigusa tilted her head. “In the containment facilities? But you have visiting hours, right? Could I… come by? It’s okay if you’d rather I don’t.”  
    
 “Don’t be silly.” Gou grinned. “Of course you can drop by.”  
    
 Rin cocked his head to the side. “And you are…?”  
    
 She turned to him. “Chigusa Hanamura. We met before.”  
    
 Sousuke raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t we… go to the same middle school?”  
    
 “And high school,” Chigusa said with a laugh. “We were both part of the drama club. You were my Senpai.”  
    
 Sousuke laughed. He scratched his head. “Sorry, it’s all kind of fuzzy… did I know you were a witch back then?”  
    
 Chigusa nodded. “Different levels, and different squads, but yes. We didn’t talk much, though. I was a couple years younger. Well, still am.”  
    
 “Would hope so,” Rin said with a laugh. “No wonder you were familiar-lookin’. You’re my Sis’ friend now, huh?”  
    
 Gou smiled. “Yeah, Ai and I bumped into her by chance.” She tapped her moon-shaped hairclip. “She bought me this!”  
    
 “Very pretty!” Momotarou grinned. “I’m Momo!”  
    
 “Rei Ryugazaki,” Rei offered. “It is wonderful to meet Kou’s friends, but we are here for a reason after all.”  
    
 Chigusa stepped back. “Oh! Sorry, you guys have business. I’ll see you later. Sorry.”  
    
 “No it’s okay!” Gou insisted. “We’re just going to see the Iris, to officially turn me over.”  
    
 A snap.   
   
 Momotarou opened his mouth, but paused. Chigusa’s eyes widened. Sousuke looked between them. “Hey…” Momo whispered. “Does anyone else, feel that?”  
    
 Nitori perked up. “It’s… coming from…” He looked down the hall.  
    
 Gou blinked. “I don’t sense anything.”  
    
 Rin shook his head.  
    
 Rei swallowed hard.  
    
 Sousuke walked down the hall and quickly turned the corner. All the way on the other side were the two double-doors that lead to Haruka’s office. “Whoa…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haruka ended the spirit art so abruptly, that all his spirit essence released in a blue mist. He dropped to the floor and limped to to a stumble. He took half a second to breathe before he forced himself up. He ran to the doors and shoved them both open. They boomed when they hit the walls, but he could care little about that. The blue mist spilled over the floors and he put a hand on the door to keep himself up. He heard a commotion up ahead and he saw the group of them, vision wavering, blurring. “Enemy! It’s here. In The Eye!”  
    
 Sousuke ran over to him. “What?”  
    
 Rin’s hands turned to fists. “In the distortion?”  
    
 Nitori’s eyes lit up.  
    
 “This!” Gou gasped.  
    
 Nitori swallowed hard. “Psion!”  
    
 Rin turned to him. “Where?”  
    
 Momotarou turned around. “Where we came from!”  
    
 Rei’s eyes widened. “Where Nagisa…?”  
    
 Haruka sprinted forward, passing them with ease. He felt someone running next to him and he glanced over. “Who are you?”  
    
 “Chigusa Hanamura, Rank Four!” she yelled as she matched his speed, “I’m a support type, Sir!”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “Nagisa…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Miho jumped back.  
    
 The heavy two-handed axe smashed against the floor, sending cracks throughout the tiles. The intruder pulled the weapon back and whirled it horizontally.  
    
 Miho formed a barrier, small but compact. It was a precise block, focusing on the exact calculated point of impact.  
    
 The axe shattered it.  
    
 Miho skipped to the side.  
    
 The intruder wore a black cloak that became white around the edges, hiding their identity.  
    
 Miho winced. The enemy was damn strong. Her barriers would be ineffective blocks. She put both hands to the side and created two barriers, each one were rings with hollow centres. She grabbed them both, one in each hand, and threw herself forward.  
    
 The intruder moved back and then lunged forward to swing horizontally once more.  
    
 Miho jumped, doing a midair roll over the weapon and landing by his side. Now was her chance. Using those ring-shaped barriers, she slashed the intruder’s left arm. She spun her body, connecting a second attack against his shoulder. She danced behind him and sliced his back, taking a quick breath. One more! She aimed for his neck, but – she caught sight of a shadow moving toward her.  
    
 The axe ripped into her side.  
    
 Blood burst into the air.  
    
 A scream ripped from her throat as she was thrown back. With a thud, Miho rolled along the floor.  
    
 The intruder turned to Nagisa and charged forward.  
    
 Nagisa crouched against the wall, blood pouring from his arm, eyes wide.  
    
  _Gunshots._  
    
 The intruder barely had a chance to turn.  
    
 Haruka whirled into the room, firing more bullets. Explosions burned around the intruder’s figure, smoke replacing the sight of them. Haruka’s eyes widened. Judging from the shape of the smoke… No. In the smoke was an orange-red barrier.  
    
 Nagisa cringed.  
    
 Chigusa charged along the side of the room, scooping Nagisa up bridal style.  
    
 Nagisa looked at her. “You…”  
    
 “I’ll get you out of here!”  
    
 The intruder moved, aiming a vertical strike at her.  
    
 Chigusa back flipped, holding Nagisa as she did. The axe cracked the ground where she once stood and she knew that would have been a fatal blow.  
    
 The intruder swung once, twice, three times.  
    
 Chigusa backed away once, twice, but her back hit a wall. Eyes wide. She saw an orange barrier protect her.  
    
 The intruder shattered it.  
    
 Momotarou screamed as he dropped to the floor. “Get away from him!”  
    
 The intruder turned to him and charged.  
    
 Momotarou had no weapon. He looked up as the figure was above him. The intruder struck downwards. Momotarou rolled to the side. The second attack would connect, but… the intruder froze. Momotarou looked up. His eyes widened.  
    
 “What?” Rin asked as he entered the room.  
    
 “Take him!” Chigusa thrust Nagisa into Rin’s arm before firing a healing spell towards Miho.  
    
 Miho lifted herself off the ground.  
    
 Sousuke summoned his weapon.  
    
 But the intruder stood still, staring at Momo, who stood still… staring at the intruder.  
    
 Silence.  
    
 Footsteps.  
    
 Wind whirled together, forging a blade. Rei leapt into the air, a growl burning in the back of his throat, blade pointing skyward. He swung down with enough force to slice a human apart. The intruder spun his axe, parrying the strike with ease. Sparks flew when the weapons connected. Rei landed and spun on his heel. In precise, sweeping motions his blade attacked from every direction possible, more sparks flying from every connection of metal to metal.  
    
 The intruder backed away and readied his axe.  
    
 Momotarou was still, eyes frozen.  
    
 Gou put a hand to her heart. “What… what should we do?”  
    
 “Nothing,” Chigusa said firmly. “This might be a big hospital room, but it’s too small for all of us to flurry. We wait for an opening and…”  
    
 Rei dodged a strike and pierced the intruder’s rib. “I won’t let you get away!” He put both hands on the hilt of his rapier and ripped the blade out to the side, spraying blood everywhere. “Not again!”  
    
 The intruder whirled his axe, twisting it at the last minute. He used the flat side of his axe to swat Rei away like a mosquito. Rei was thrown across the room. The intruder stared at Momotarou again.  
    
 Gou’s eyes widened. “This psion…”  
    
 Haruka leapt between Momo and the intruder, holding a up a gun.  
    
 Chigusa saw her chance. She ran across the wall and slipped behind the axe-wielder. They flanked him. Her spirit essence forged into rectangles and with flickers of light they became cards. They whirled around her before one of them turned bright pink. Chigusa caught that one and it transformed into a spear, also bright pink. A weapon made of a barrier. A support-type’s only offense.  
    
 Haruka fired.  
    
 The intruder created a barrier. The bullet exploded against it. A cloud of smoke obstructed all sight.  
    
 Chigusa attacked from behind. She jumped and pierced his shoulder, where Miho had struck earlier.  
    
 Haruka frowned. He tried to sense into the smoke to see what was going on, but there was too much noise to really understand. The sound of metal hitting a barrier, slightly electric, resonated in the small room.  
    
 Chigusa jumped out of the smoke cloud in a back flip. She caught another card and it began to glow black. She launched orbs of darkness.  
    
 The intruder whirled his axe, deflecting them. They crashed against the walls, but Haruka didn’t have time to see if anyone was harmed.  
    
 The axe-wielder glanced to the window before making a run for it.  
    
 “I won’t let you!” Rei shouted, giving chase.  
    
 Haruka dove forward.  
    
 Chigusa’s eyes widened. “Seijuro!”  
    
   
 Along the walls of the building, glass shattered once, outwards, as Seijuro broke through. Glass shattered three more times as Rei, Haruka, and Chigusa followed him. Seijuro closed his eyes and tapped into his mind. Reality shifted. Gravity shifted. The world spun. The walls were now the floor.  
    
 Rei’s eyes widened as he fell back through the window.  
    
 Haruka realised what was going on, but it was too late.  
    
 Chigusa opened her legs, catching her feet on the window pane.  
    
 Seijuro landed ten steps from her and charged. His axe – a construct of his mind – wouldn’t be stopped now. It swung horizontally.  
    
 Chigusa jumped back, feet landing against glass and cracking it. “Shit!” She hopped to where there was solid wall and looked up. “Sei… are you… Are you even in there?”  
    
 Seijuro’s weapon crashed down.  
   
 Chigusa jumped back a second time. She needed to put space between them. She summoned ten cards and they whirled around her before shooting ‘upwards’. Each card shattered, releasing the spell locked within, and spirit arts rained down. Blasts of fire, spires of earth, gales of wind, orbs of darkness, rays of light, spears made of barriers—She released the arsenal of her mind.  
    
 Seijuro removed his hood and from his forehead erupted a blast wave which shattered each spell into nothingness.  
    
 Chigusa’s eyes widened. “No…”  
    
 Seijuro’s hair had white streaks, while his face was covered in black lines. His third eye, though not existent in this reality, was wide open. Each eye burned with black fire. The flame around his third eye was larger than the others, creating the illusion of a crown of fire.  
    
 Haruka whirled behind him. “Chrysalis!” He fired several rounds.  
    
 Seijuro spun his weapon, deflecting each bullet.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened. “How?”  
    
 Chigusa opened a rift into darkness; chains shot out.  
    
 Seijuro slashed them apart; shrapnel and metal scraps blasted in all directions from the impact.  
    
 “Nothing we do works!” Chigusa hissed.  
    
 Haruka threw both of his guns to the side. They dissolved into a molecular stream. Gears spun. Knowing the design of the weapons, he waved his spirit essence and reassembled them into a single weapon. He was the engineer. The gears clicked in place. A weapon that would be too strong to deflect: A grenade launcher. He clasped the weapon then aimed where Seijuro was standing, but paused. “Where?”  
    
 “Nanase!” Chigusa yelled.  
    
 Seijuro appeared from the side, grabbing his throat, lifting him above the ‘ground’, squeezing his neck.  
    
 Haruka’s vision wavered and he saw lights through tears. He saw a memory. A vision of him crying in his bed. He was young. He was saying… something, yelling something…  
    
  _“Kill them!” Haruka cried, “He killed them!”_  
    
 Haruka tried to push the memory away, but it wouldn’t leave.  
    
  _Why now?  
    
 Why…?_  
    
 The hand around his throat reminded him of the stained glass, where something choked him… choking him, choking him…  
    
  _Why now?_  
    
 “Nanase!” Chigusa focused her energy into her third eye before unleashing a blast from her mind.  
    
 The blast hit, encompassing them both. Haruka’s eyes snapped open. Whatever Chigusa had just done broke the connection. He brought his foot up and kicked the Chrysalis in the face.  
    
 Seijuro dropped him and backed away.  
    
 “What the hell, Kisumi?” Chigusa yelled, “What are you thinking?” She grabbed another card. One of bright light. She tossed it forward. “Son of Poseidon!” A ring of light surrounded her. “I call you forth!”  
    
  _That…_ Haruka stared at the card. Though he didn’t know who Chigusa was calling, he did know that he didn’t want to know.  
    
 Seijuro leapt up, slicing the card in half, shattering into thousands of pieces of glass before the summoning could be complete. Before Chigusa could react, he crossed the distance and slammed his knee into her stomach. He watched blood spill from her lips and he tossed her aside. Knowing it was futile, Seijuro slammed his hand on the ground.  
    
 Gravity shifted.  
   
 The world spun.  
   
 Gravity reverted.  
    
 Seijuro leapt off the building, down to the city below.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened as he was pulled down. He closed his eyes, but something caught his hand. He looked up.  
    
 Chigusa’s right hand grabbed one of the ledges while her left caught Haruka. “Hey… you okay?”  
   
 “Tch.” Haruka eyed her carefully as he dangled. “Never better.”  
   
 “Sir.” She looked up, noting the distance to Nagisa’s room. “I think I can toss you up.”  
   
 Haruka nodded.  
   
 She moved Haruka left and right like a pendulum before swinging him up.  
    
 Haruka used his spirit essence to control his flow. He dove through an open window and crashed against the ground; his cape protected him as he rolled along the shards of broken glass.  
    
 Chigusa followed him shortly after, dropping to her knees. “Damnit… he got away.” She closed her eyes. “Call the medics.”  
    
 Momotarou stared at her, and his eyes went wide. “You…”  
   
 The gears began to spin.   
    
 Haruka reforged his weapons to their original design, gears clicking in place, and aimed one at her. “Who are you?”  
    
 Chigusa breathed heavy, but said nothing.  
    
 “Your spirit essence!” Momotarou stood up. “It’s completely different!”  
    
 Haruka forced himself to his feet.  
    
 Chigusa did the same. She looked down at the floor, but didn’t reply.  
    
 Gou swallowed hard. “Chi?”  
    
 Nitori stared at her. “This energy…”  
    
 Haruka growled. “Surrender yourself. Now!”  
    
 “I’m sorry.” Chigusa closed her eyes before shaking her head. “But if the White Psion is free then that’s the last thing I can do right now.”  
    
 Haruka scoffed. “Fine.” His finger curled around the trigger.  
    
 “Wait!” Gou screamed, “Haru!”  
    
 Haruka fired.  
    
 Chigusa threw up a blank card. It spun once, catching the bullet. When it flipped over, there was the image of Haruka’s very bullet. “Sorry!” She threw the card at Haruka.  
    
 Haru’s eyes widened and crossed as he saw his own ammunition between his eyes. The sudden explosion smashed him back against the wall.  
    
 Chigusa took her chance and ran through the door. Her eyes widened. Sousuke and Rin stood in front of her. Sousuke had his blade in hand, while Rin had a dragon serpent ready. Chigusa knew they were expert witches, but even that was too fast. Did Haru give them some kind of signal? She threw her hands to the side, releasing two card. One was a very light yellow, the other a deep blue. She fused light shade with water elemental into a single card before jumping in the air.  
    
 “Stop!” Sousuke attempted diplomacy.  
    
 Chigusa’s hands turned to fist and they began to glow. When she threw her hands forward, twin jets of shimmering, glowing water surged out.  
    
 With a crash, both of them were taken down in one hit each.  
    
 Chigusa landed and ran past them.  
    
 Back in the hospital room Gou shook her head. “Chigusa!” She began to glow. “Why…?”  
    
 Nitori ran down the hall. He knew he wouldn’t make it in time so he tapped into his mind, summoning a force field to block her path.  
    
 Chigusa closed her eyes and a blast wave erupted from her forehead—breaking the force field in half.  
    
 Nitori felt his head become light and he fell to the ground.  
    
 “Ai!” Gou yelled. Her whole body was glowing a rose-red and she grabbed her hair. “Chigusa…” She closed her eyes. “Chigusa!”  
    
 Reality warped.  
    
 Chigusa saw the same mix of rose and vermillion pinks and reds in front of her.  
    
 Gou appeared. She grabbed Chigusa. “Why?”  
    
 “Displacer.”  
    
 Gou stared at her. “Wh-What?”  
    
 “You’re a displacer,” Chigusa explained. “A psion whose ability focuses on themselves and displacing themselves. You use your conscious element of self as a medium for space. That is the core of your witchcraft.”  
    
 “What?” Gou stared at her. “Why? What’s happening? Why are you—”  
    
 Chigusa put her hands on Gou’s shoulders. “Kou, listen to me…” She closed her eyes. She heard footsteps and opened them again. Rei was running down the hall. That one, wind-elemental, he was fast. Chigusa knew whatever time she had was lost. “I’m sorry.” She put her hand to Gou’s forehead and from the rifts of reality she pulled out a card. “I’m sorry!” she yelled before slamming her fist into Gou’s stomach.  
    
 From the contact, Gou felt a surge of… something, enter in her body. She fell to her knees, vision becoming a blur, mind becoming a blur, everything she knew was a blur. She crashed against the floor and saw Chigusa run away. Why? She asked herself the question. Why did this happen? Why did… anything happen? Her vision went black and her mind slowly began to let go of reality, before she drifted off into a deep sleep. A deep, fake sleep.


	7. Psion of Psion

_“You know, Rin has a crush on you.”  
    
 Haruka didn’t bother looking up from his lap. He was sitting on the swings, at a playground they used to go to every day when they were younger. When Sousuke asked to talk to him after school, he figured that’s where they would meet up. The sun was setting and everything had that distinct, orange-sunset glow. He kicked some of the wood chips, refusing to answer.  
    
 “Haru?”  
    
 He said nothing.  
    
 Sousuke leaned on one of the poles of the swing set, arms crossed. “Are you even listening to me?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 Sousuke sighed. “Look, Rin likes you. If you like him too, that’s cool; but hey if you don’t… then don’t lead him on. If you’re not interested then just say it.”  
    
 “I am.”  
    
 Sousuke’s eyes widened. “You are?”  
    
 Haruka closed his eyes, squeezing the cold metal chains of the swing. Why? “I think I am.”  
    
 “You think you are?”  
    
 “It’s… not that easy, okay?”  
    
 “It’s not easy?” Sousuke cocked his head to the side. “What’s not easy?”  
    
 “Figuring it out… It’s not that easy.”  
    
 “Because of… Makoto.”  
    
 Haruka stiffened, silently taking in a sharp breath.  
    
 “Hm.” Sousuke sighed, uncrossing his arms. He let them fall at his side as he glanced to the sun setting over the waters. “I was right, huh?”  
    
 Haruka opened his eyes, nodding.  
    
 “They both like you? And you’re scared of hurting one of them. Is that it?”  
    
 Haruka looked up, looking at Sousuke. “Why?”  
    
 “Hm?” Sousuke turned away from the ocean in the distance and glanced to him. “Why what?”  
    
 “Why can’t we all just… stay friends? And not. Complicate. Things. I’m fifteen; I don’t need a boyfriend.”  
    
 “So…” Sousuke ran a hand through his hair. “You don’t want a boyfriend, is that it?”  
    
 “I do.” Haruka felt the contradiction swirl in his head. “I think I do. I don’t know. It sounds like it would be really nice. If only… I wasn’t caught between them.”  
    
 “Hm.” Sousuke nodded. “I think I get it. Well, I don’t know… If Rin were into me, I’d jump for joy to be honest.”  
    
 “You can have him.”  
    
 “Huh? So you’re choosing Makoto?”  
    
 “No.” Haruka stood up and picked up his schoolbag from the floor, signalling the conversation was pretty much over. “I’m not choosing either of them. I’ll make the wrong choice. I don’t care. Not interested.”  
    
 Sousuke watched him leave, knowing that was the biggest lie he’d ever heard._  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Nagisa slammed his fist into the wall. “Damnit!”  
    
 It was the first word spoken in a long time.  
    
 The group of them stood in a ‘waiting hallway’ of sorts, outside the private medical rooms. With Haruka, Miho, and Nitori all unconscious, Gou was forced to stay inside, leaving the rest of them outside.  
    
 “If I hadn’t been!” Nagisa winced. His left arm had been bandaged up. “If I could cast spells, I! I!” His right hand slammed the wall again. “Damnit!”  
    
 “Nagisa,” Rei whispered. “Please… enough.”  
    
 “Why!?” Nagisa yelled, “Why can’t I cast!? Why can’t I create barriers, or heal—all I can do is sense and it’s not even active sensing, it’s passive: I can’t even direct my focus! If I could… If I had seen this coming, I… I could have protected myself! I could have—”  
    
 Rin’s eyes snapped open. “Shut up!”  
    
 Nagisa jumped, flinching.  
    
 Rei scowled. “Rin.”  
    
 “Don’t shush me,” Rin spat back at him. He glared at Nagisa. “You’ve done enough for all of us. We should be happy, for fuck’s sake. No one’s dead. We’re all alive.”  
    
 Nagisa glared. “But Sensei—”  
    
 “—Is alive!” Rin interjected.  
    
 Nagisa’s eyes watered. “Haru!”  
    
 “Alive!” Rin took a breath. “We… we can’t ask for more than that.”  
    
 “But…” Nagisa slumped against the wall.  
    
 Sousuke closed his eyes.  
    
 “It…” Momotarou finally spoke. His firsts word in almost four hours. “It felt so different.” Everyone looked at him. He could feel their piercing eyes. But he ignored them, looking at his hands. “When Han… Hanamura broke through Ai’s barrier. I don’t know how to say it. I’m not as good with words as everyone else, but… Ai and I grew up together. I’ve seen a lot of his barriers break. His barriers… are kind of like walls. Or, doors.”  
    
 Rin raised an eyebrow. “Doors?”  
    
 Momotarou nodded and then held both hands up. “When we create barriers…” Orange squares appeared and began to click next to one another. “We create it part by part, piece by piece. We solidify the pieces.” Momotarou focused and the squares locked in place, becoming one larger square but visibly made up of smaller ones. “But not Ai’s. Ai’s shields… or force fields, they’re always…” Momotarou dismissed his spell. “They’re always one big singular thing. Like a big wall, a door.”  
    
 Nagisa nodded. “Yeah. Psions do that…”  
    
 Momotarou looked up. “But when something breaks the doors, it’s sometimes thuddy like a hammer, blunt… sometimes it’s sharp, like a knife. But… when Chigusa attacked it, it felt… almost like a key. Like the door opened. Ai’s mind, for that moment, it opened. It was like she knew how to open the door… I…” He brought his knees up and hugged them, burying his face in them. “I can’t explain it. I don’t want to. I’m sorry.”  
    
 Rei blinked. “But what does that mean? What can we infer from such a thing?”  
    
 “A lot,” Nagisa muttered.  
    
 Sousuke nodded. “Chigusa Hanamura is trained to fight psions, possibly at a level beyond The Eye’s understanding.”  
    
 “Only explanation.” Rin put his hand on his hip. “You saw the way she fought that big guy: He fucking changed gravity and she wasn’t even surprised.”  
    
 Momotarou nestled deeper into himself.  
    
 Sousuke swallowed hard. “Who was he?”  
    
 Momo shook his head. “No one.”  
    
 “He…” Rei began, but the words died on his lips.  
    
 Nagisa looked at Sousuke. “He killed her.” His hand turned to a fist again. “Rei saw it with his own eyes. He killed her.”  
    
 “I…” Sousuke frowned. “Understand that these are hard memories, but…”  
    
 “Seijuro Mikoshiba,” Rei said simply, “A psion who is a criminal witch, charged with several dozen murders, including Chiyo Hazuki. Codename: White Psion.”  
    
 Sousuke looked at Momotarou. “Mikoshiba?”  
    
 “He stopped…” Momo cringed. “He was going to kill me, but he stopped.”  
    
 Footsteps down the hall caught their attention.  
    
 Gou approached them, eyes on Momo for a moment, then to Rei. “He was a psion. The red-haired one… I can confirm that.”  
    
 Momo nodded.  
    
 Rei nodded as well.  
    
 Nagisa didn’t say anything.  
    
 Gou figured that conversation was dead, so she turned to her brother. “Ai’s okay. He’s just sleeping for now.”  
    
 Rin breathed a sigh of relief. “Sensei? Haru?”  
    
 “Miho’s recovered, just resting.” Gou put her hands behind her back. “Haruka woke up… he wants to talk to you guys. Now.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haruka sat on the hospital bed. He hadn’t said a word to Gou, but he knew that her thoughts were in line with his. Rin hadn’t noticed, but Gou had. That was the confirmation he needed. He was just out of recovery at the shrine and now this. He hated recovering. He hated being helpless, unable to do anything. He hated it. He fucking hated it. His hands balled into fists, shaking out of his anger.  
    
 The doors opened.  
    
 Haruka turned. He was aware of the visitor limit, but it was obvious no one was going to say anything. No one was going to say a fucking word.  
    
 Rin ran a hand through his red hair, which was growing too long. “We know who the psion is. The one who attacked us. Mister Big Bad with his axe.”  
    
 “Seijuro Mikoshiba,” Haruka muttered.  
    
 Rin raised an eyebrow. “Well, shit. That saves us the trouble and time, I guess…”  
    
 “I don’t know much,” Haruka admitted. “But I know his name. I’ve memorised it. I could appreciate more info, since all I know is his name and the fact I want him dead.”  
    
 Momotarou cringed.  
    
 Sousuke swallowed hard. “Let’s not be too hasty…”  
    
 “Yeah, geez.” Rin sighed. “You just got an explosion to the face; is now really the time to start spouting threats? Calm the fuck down, Water Boy.”  
    
 “I…” Gou looked down. “I want him dead too.”  
    
 Everyone stared at her, eyes wide, but Haruka didn’t look surprised.  
    
 Nagisa swallowed hard. “Gou-chan…”  
    
 Rei blinked. “Kou?”  
    
 “Whoa.” Rin turned to her. “Look, Haru being full of bloodlust, that’s fine – nobody’s shocked. He’s a fucking ball of rage. But you?”  
    
 “Rin!” She grabbed his wrist. “You’re so dumb!”  
    
 “What?” Rin frowned. “I’m dumb? Because I don’t want to go on a murder spree for some psion? What did he even do? Nobody understands the situation!”  
    
 “Damnit, Rin!” Gou closed her eyes, squeezing his wrist. “His energy—he’s the one! Rin, he… he killed our parents!”  
    
 Rin’s face slowly softened. He turned to Haruka.  
    
 Haruka just nodded.  
    
 Rin just stared.  
    
 “Momo.” Haruka glanced to him. “You share the same family name with him. The resemblance is notable.”  
    
 “He’s…” Momotarou took a deep breath. “My brother.”  
    
 “I’m sorry.” Haruka looked away. “But I am _going_ to kill your brother.”  
    
 “W-Wait!” Nagisa swallowed hard. “Haru-chan!”  
    
 “Shut up,” muttered Haruka. “I don’t care about what you have to say.”  
    
 “He took both my grandparents from me!” Nagisa clasped the railing of the hospital bed. “Chiyo Hazuki… she was like a grandmother, and mother, to everyone at the shrine. For both Rei and I, and she took in Ai, and she took in Momo and Sei… Seijuro. And… Kisumi… I know Seijuro Mikoshiba did a lot of horrible things, and… I wish, I wish I could undo them and do something to take them back, but it’s not his fault! The madness of a psion… He used to be a good person!”  
    
 “Maybe,” Haruka said simply. “Maybe he used to be a good person, but he’s a monster now. Not killing him here and now means letting him kill others. He is a necessary sacrifice for justice and the safety of The Eye.”  
    
 Nagisa stepped away.  
    
 “You might not be able to cast spells, Nagisa, but you swore your life to the military force of The Eye when you enlisted. If you can’t understand the harsh nature of reality by now, get the fuck out.”  
    
 “Haru!” Rin hissed.  
    
 Sousuke crossed his arms.  
    
 Nagisa looked away.  
    
 Haruka turned to Rin. “Where’s Makoto?”  
    
 Rin scoffed. “Couldn’t get in contact with him.”  
    
 “Did you tell him it was an emergency?”  
    
 “Yep.”  
   
 “Labelled it as urgent?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 Haruka looked down. His hand scrunched the bed sheets. “It’s not like him…”  
    
 Gou put her hands together. “Maybe he just didn’t get to it yet?”  
    
 Haruka shook his head. “He checks his messages often, and it pings his spirit essence. I don’t know where he is, but… I just hope he’s okay.”  
    
 Sousuke forced a smile. “I’m sure he’s fine.”  
    
 “Maybe, maybe not… I don’t like this. I shouldn’t have let him go…” Haruka looked up. “Things have changed. Find him. I’ll order you if I have to.”  
    
 “Things have changed,” Sousuke agreed. “I’ll find him. He’s light, I’m darkness. We’re attuned to one another.”  
    
 Rei nodded. “Take a sensory with you.”  
    
 Momotarou looked up. “I’ll do it. I’ll come.”  
    
 “Momo…” Sousuke’s eyes softened. “Are you sure?”  
    
 “Not really, but I can… I just, I want to do something. Anything! So, please…”  
    
 “Okay.” Sousuke nodded and turned to Haruka. “I know you’re worried and the timing is shit, but he’ll be fine. I’ll take Momo with me and check the island first. That’s probably where he is. And even if he isn’t, we could find a trail for his spirit essence.”  
    
 Rin glanced over. “Want me to come too?”  
    
 “Master of Rituals,” Sousuke teased, desperately trying to bring some light to the heavy conversation (when nobody’s expression changed, he figured it was a lost cause anyway). “Yeah. That would be great.”  
    
 Momo nodded as well.  
    
 “Nn.” Nagisa looked down. “I… want to help too. I don’t know how, since I can’t, but I want to help.”  
    
 “Nagisa.” Rei offered a smile. “You don’t need to use spirit essence to help. I don’t know what we can find in the shrine, but Seijuro lived there for several years. I’ll go through Hazuki-basama’s records, try to find something there.”  
    
 Nagisa’s eyes lit up. “C-Could I… help?”  
    
 As out of place as the thought was, Rei couldn’t help but find Nagisa being shy a little… cute since it was so different. “Of course. It’s a momentous task; I would feel better with you at my side. The records also belong to you, as they are of your grandparents.”  
    
 Nagisa jumped up and kissed his face.  
    
 Gou smiled. “I’ll stay with Haru. Technically, I can’t go anywhere without one of my three guardians, so I have to stay here anyway.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 Rin sighed. “Yeah, make sure this fucker actually recovers.”  
    
 “Gou-chan!” Nagisa raised both hands up. “If he gets out of bed before Sensei say she can, knock him out! Fight-o!”  
    
 Sousuke nodded. “We’re counting on you, Sis.”  
    
 Gou grinned. Her smile was a little uneasy, but it was still a smile. “Will do. Good luck finding things at the shrine, and good luck finding Makoto. Hopefully he’s home and safe.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Makoto ran a hand through his wet hair. He had showered five minutes ago after picking up all the evidence of his earlier ritual. He had felt… something. Something touched his mind, but nothing came. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He was ready, weapon on his back, battle armor equipped. He figured the enemy would come for him; and, in some ways, it felt like it did… but not physically. He walked to his kitchen and grabbed his cup of tea. It had ginseng and ginger to give him the little boost he needed.  
   
 He drank slowly and then stared at the bottom of the cup.  
    
 He heard the front door open.  
    
 Makoto’s first instinct was to grab the knife, but he remembered scaring Momotarou last time so he smiled. “Captain?”  
    
 No reply.  
    
 Footsteps.  
    
 Makoto realised he just gave away his position.  
    
 “I’m sorry,” a voice that wasn’t Sousuke nor Momotarou’s replied, “For dropping in unannounced.”  
    
 “That voice,” Makoto whispered. He put the cup down and turned to the living room.  
    
 Chigusa crossed her arms. “Hey.”  
    
 “What?” Makoto’s eyes widened. “Your spirit essence, it’s…”  
    
 “I know. I… Things didn’t really go as planned, so I’m uh… accelerating my plan a little.” Chigusa sighed. “But they’ll be here soon. Makoto, I need your help.”  
    
 “You…” Makoto swallowed hard. “You’re! You’re a…”  
    
 Chigusa nodded. “Psion.”


	8. Despair of Desperation

“Ma… Makoto. Makoto…”  
    
 Arms were around him, holding him.  
    
 “Hel-Help… Help,” a shudder, a gasp, “Help…”  
    
 The ambulance never came, nor the police, but The Eye did. The investigators, usually composed of support types, though there were a couple elementalists and several shades as well… they had come. There was the flashing, alternating red and blue lights akin to police, but they knew better than to think of them as normal people. They were witches. They knew what were going on.  
    
 Haruka was shaking, face buried in the crook of Makoto’s neck.  
    
 Makoto held him tight, tears streaming down his face. “I’m right here!”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 One of the investigators walked up to them then crouched down. “You’re Haru?”  
    
 Haruka pulled himself away from Makoto just enough to look at the man. He nodded.  
    
 The investigator smiled. “I know how hard this must be for you,” his voice was gentle, “And I know you’ve had to talk to a lot of us already, but we need some more information. Do you think you could just have a little chat with me?”  
    
 Haruka winced. “Maybe.”  
    
 “Honey.” Makoto’s mother kneeled down. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”  
    
 “I… didn’t see much,” Haruka admitted. “I was upstairs, and I heard… I heard screaming. A lot of screaming. And when I came down, they were both… they were both…” His eyes widened.  
    
 Makoto hugged him tighter.  
    
 The investigator took his hat off, putting it to his heart. “Did you see who did this?”  
    
 Haruka shook his head. “He was already gone, Sir.”  
    
 “Now I’m told you’re quite the witch for your age. Did you happen to see anything, maybe spirit essence residue or something?”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “I felt it in the air… it felt, his spirit essence felt… white.”  
    
 “White?”  
    
 “It felt… white.”  
    
 “I’m, I’m not sure what you mean by that?”  
    
 “I don’t know,” Haruka admitted. “I’m sorry… it’s just when I saw… I saw white. I’m sorry.”  
    
 “It’s alright. You’ve been so strong, and you’re such a big help.”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 Later on, they heard mumbling.  
    
 “The Nanase kid’s report is identical to the Matsuoka one. The older one. All they’ll say is it was white. What the fuck does that mean? The sister saw the man. She gave a description, though we’re not sure how accurate her report is, but… there’s nothing white about him. His hair’s bright orange and he’s Asian as fuck. What the hell do they mean by… white?”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haruka opened his eyes. Another memory. Why? Why did they surface? A part of him wanted to say Seijuro, but he wasn’t completely certain. There was another piece to the puzzle. Chigusa? There were many more pieces to the puzzle and Haruka didn’t know which corner to even start. He glanced to the side.  
    
 A gun was against his head.  
    
 “Bang,” a youthful man wearing the robe of the High Council said with a smile.  
    
 Haruka sat up in the hospital bed and rubbed one of his eyes. “How long…?”  
    
 The councillor put the gun down on the bedside table then sighed. “Not long, don’t worry. We’re worried, especially since this is the second time you’re injured in such a short while. By the same person, even.”  
    
 “Sort of.”  
    
 “Hn?” The youthful man cocked his head. “Sort of?”  
    
 “The first one… was my fault. Spirit essence turned hostile by my mistake of trying to identify it, forcing its hand. This one… I think I provoked her.”  
    
 “Provoked?” he asked, “Her?”  
    
 “I aimed my gun at her, demanded she stand down. She didn’t. Although she was in the wrong not to yield, she acted more in self-defence than in action to harm anyone.”  
    
 “And how exactly are you so sure oh great Iris?”  
    
 “She took me out with one spell.” Haruka looked to the ceiling. “From what others have told me, she also took out Matsuoka Rin and Yamazaki Sousuke, two expert-level witches, with a single spell. She also managed to knock Nitori Aiichiro unconscious as well. If she wanted to kill me, to kill anyone, they would be dead.”  
    
 “Oh. Well.” The councillor sighed. “That’s awfully comforting, I suppose. A witch stronger than you. Scary, huh?”  
    
 “Hm.” Haruka didn’t reply, but that was reply enough.  
    
 “Well, that still doesn’t explain who she was or why she was there.”  
    
 Haruka looked up, glancing to Gou who had been silently sitting at the far side of the room.  
    
 The councillor looked over as well. “I don’t think we’ve had the chance to talk one on one, Matsuoka.”  
    
 Gou stood up. “Kou Matsuoka, pleasure to meet you, Sir.” She bowed.  
    
 “Pleasure’s all mine.”  
    
 Haruka rolled his eyes. “Kou, could you tell us about her?”  
    
 “Um. Yes.” Gou put her hands together and squeezed. “Chigusa Hanamura described herself as a support type. She’s a witch of The Eye… or so that’s what she said. I met her by chance, actually…” She reached for the moon-shaped hair clip in her hair but quickly realised what she was doing. “Sorry. I met her by chance. She showed no signs of hostility until Mikoshiba… older Mikoshiba, um… what was his name?”  
    
 The councillor tilted his head. “The White Psion?”  
    
 Gou’s eyes widened.  
    
 “Hm. That’s right you…” He turned to Haru. “Both of you, had first-hand experience with him. Years ago?”  
    
 “A… touchy subject, but yes.” Gou swallowed hard. “I… I wish I had more answers. I wish I did, really.”  
    
 “I believe you.” He walked over to her. “Chigusa Hanamura did you say?”  
    
 “I’ve already begun a full database scan,” Haruka muttered. “There are no results for the name, so far. But I’ll find her.”  
    
 “Hm.” The councillor pulled out his phone and offered it to Gou. “I’m fairly decent at Japanese names actually, but just to be safe could you type it in for me?”  
    
 Gou nodded and took the phone, quickly typing it out. “Here you go.”  
    
 “Thank you.” He took the phone back and slipped it into his pocket. “I’m Korean, if you’re wondering. Councillor Representative of Asia. I was wondering if you could hold that Ryugazaki back for me?”  
    
 Gou blinked.  
    
 “I’m the one who has been doing the dealings with the Mahō lately… They’re just utterly full of secrets. Seijuro Mikoshiba was a member of the Mahō. He was a psion, staying with Hazuki, but was he a student like Nitori?” He turned to Haruka. “Though I’m guessing this case will be taken out of my hands. You seem quite hell-bent on solving this investigation yourself, Highlord.”  
    
 Haruka glared.  
    
 “I like that look on you,” the councillor whispered. “The one that looks like it’s going to kill everyone, utterly overflowing with rage. It makes me wonder how you ever fought Chrysalises when you’re an emotional train wreck.”  
    
 Gou’s eyes widened. “S-Sir!”  
    
 The councillor just laughed. “I mean it in good compliments, I swear.”  
    
 “Enough, Yun.” Haruka looked away. “I don’t have time for your games today.”  
    
 “Fine.” The councillor seemed oddly serious. “But if you’re going to lead this personally, we need to talk about other things. New Year’s Summit and the Nexus Reversal are coming up on us. We have weeks, but if we have to push things back… we need a better reason than this.”  
    
 “Distortions,” Gou muttered.  
    
 They both looked at her.  
    
 “It might be related to distortions.”  
    
 He turned. “Excuse me?”  
    
 Haruka frowned. “Kou?”  
    
 “Um.” Gou swallowed hard. She put her hands together. “Chigusa talked to Ai and I, about… distortions, and psions. She said that psions may be able to do something about distortions… that psions can distort reality, and that we could use that to help, somehow. I don’t know how much of that is true… I don’t know if we can take what she says word for word but I don’t know if we have a reason to think she would lie to us either.”  
    
 “Hm.” Haruka looked to the side. “Chigusa Hanamura… she’s a psion. I’m sure of it. Seijuro had me in his mental grasp and Chigusa used some kind of… blast wave to break it. She fought fire with fire; she disrupted Seijuro’s psionic spell with her own. But. Her spells… most were support-based, and then I saw her use elemental and shade arts…”  
    
 “But.” Gou looked down. “The way she broke through Ai’s barrier… It’s not possible that she’s, all four?”  
    
 The councillor stiffened. “Who is she?”  
    
 Haruka shook his head. “Yun, explain the situation to the councils, both of them. This is urgent.”  
    
 “I agree.” He nodded. “However, in three days’ time you have a meeting with Kouzelnictví—it’s vital the Czech origin house works with us. What should we do about that?”  
    
 “Miho Amakata,” Haruka replied with ease. “She’ll take my place.”  
    
 “You would…?” He nodded. “Very well. I see, it makes sense. They are bargaining for restorative reagents.”  
    
 “It’s her domain,” Haruka affirmed. “If the High Council believes in her abilities, then send her. She’s the head of the Guardian Wing for a reason. If they vote not to send her, then reschedule our appointment with the Kouzelnictví.”  
    
 The councillor nodded. “I heard Amakata woke up recently. I’ll inform her; if she accepts, I’ll go to the council. If you don’t hear from me, all went well.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 “If that’s all, then, Iris, I’ll take my leave.”  
    
 “That’s all.” Haruka looked him in the eye. “Thank you.”  
    
 He cracked a smile and bowed. He turned and he left.  
    
 Gou waited until the door closed before offering a smile. “He wasn’t too bad.”  
    
 “He’s horrible,” Haruka corrected. “But he straightens up when he needs to. He’s good at what he does.”  
    
 “So—” Gou got cut off from a beep. She looked at her phone. “Oh.” She read the message and paled. “Bad news.”  
    
 Haruka’s shoulders tightened. “Makoto?”  
    
 “Makoto’s not home… Momo can sense Chigusa’s spirit essence in the house.” Gou stood up as she read the text. “But no tracking ritual is working. They just, up and vanished… How is that possible?”  
    
 “Distortions,” Haruka answered. “Maybe.”  
    
 Gou looked at him, eyes wide.  
    
 It was Haruka’s phone’s turn to beep.  
    
 Haruka grabbed it. “Ai’s awake. The nurses just told me.” He went through his contacts and hit video call.  
    
 Rin’s face appeared on his screen, behind him was Haruka’s kitchen. “Hey!”  
    
 “Hey.”  
    
 “Got the message?” Rin winced.  
    
 Haruka nodded. “Ai’s awake. I’m giving Kou to Ai.”  
    
 “Yeah?” Rin bit his lip. “What exactly are you going to do?”  
    
 “Nothing dangerous,” he assured. “But I have a lead.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Kisumi stared up at the stained glass images. The cathedral disappeared and reappeared a thousand times. He looked through the cosmos, through the stars, through the hymn of the universe but he was nothing except a faulty conductor. He could listen, but he could not direct. He could focus on different melodies, but he couldn’t choose which one played and which one didn’t. He could only choose what he ignored.  
    
 “Please…” Kisumi raised his arms up to the stars. “Please… don’t leave me here… Speak to me!”  
   
    
 But only silence answered his plea.


	9. Makoto of Haruka

_“You look focused, Haru-chan.”  
    
 “Tch. Drop the ‘-chan’, Makoto.”  
    
 Makoto smiled as he pulled out two lunchboxes. “I brought for both of us, if you forgot yours.”  
    
 Haruka looked up from the book he was reading. They were in elementary school.  
    
 Makoto leaned over and smiled. “What are you looking at?”  
    
 “Poseidon.” Haruka pointed to him. “King of all the waters and all the oceans and everything.”  
    
 “I love Poseidon! He’s _really_ _really_ cool.”  
    
 “I don’t know if I like him.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Why not?”  
    
 “He was mean to his wife.” Haruka pointed to the woman next to Poseidon in the picture. “They say he forced her to marry him… that he chained her up and then he wasn’t a very nice to her.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Forced her to marry him? That’s not the story I was told.”  
    
 Haruka looked up at him.  
    
 Makoto pouted. “Well the story I was told, was…”_  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 The sand whirled into the air as they dashed through the Sahara desert. They didn’t get the time to change outfits, but Makoto had his battle outfit on from earlier. Chigusa wore a formal skirt and a white buttoned up shirt. She rolled the sleeves back and popped the collar. Even with a quick sapphire enchantment to regulate body temperature, the sun seared its heat down on them.  
    
 Makoto slid down a sand dune. “Just over this ridge?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Chigusa ran along the hot white sand. “You can feel it, can’t you?”  
    
 “I can.” Makoto followed, blade on his back. “These ruins… you sure they’ll just, appear?”  
    
 “Positive.” Chigusa curved her body, letting her feet glide along the downward slope. “Legends tell of it, coming from time to time. They open only for a little while, then are trapped forever. It’s not exactly a mystery once you learn the trick. They’re cognitive distortions.”  
    
 “Cognitive?” Makoto looked at her. “Wait, you mean…”  
    
 “Psions planted them.” Chigusa nodded. “If your consciousness wills them to open, they might. If not, you won’t even know they’re there. Even a normal psion with no training can open and close them whenever, though. There are over forty distortions that will lead us there, but this one is our best bet.”  
    
 “Forty…?” Makoto blinked. “And they all go to the same place?”  
    
 “Same place, but a different incarnation of it.” Chigusa slowed down and hopped into a jog, eventually halting.  
    
 “And you think this is somehow related to Haruka.” Makoto slowed down as well. “And his visions?”  
    
 Chigusa closed her eyes, feeling the spirit essence locked into the grains of sand that whirled around her. “Exactly.” She put a hand up. “You’re a light shade, right?”  
    
 “Yes, I am.”  
    
 “You’ll have to cut us a path. Skeletons guard the tomb.”  
    
 “Tomb?” Makoto gulped. “Skeletons?”  
    
 “Here.” Chigusa grabbed the air and ripped reality open—out of blends of light came a mirage of sorts. Rocks and stones began to overlay over the endless plains of sand and a set of stairs led underground. “Ready?”  
    
 “Whoa…” Makoto stepped forward. “What did you do?”  
    
 Chigusa shook her head. “Watch your step, alright?” She began walking down.  
    
 Makoto followed, taking one step at a time, glancing at the cracked stone. “You talk like you’ve been here before. So, that sort of begs the question then, why are you bringing me here?”  
    
 “Many reasons.” Chigusa took a deep breath, inhaling too much dust and regretting it with a cough. “I need you to see something, Makoto. Only a few can help me, but you’re the only one I can truly trust at this point.”  
    
 “Trust,” Makoto repeated. As they descended underground, he was surprised that there was light. He couldn’t see any light sources, but shadows danced along the orange walls they passed. It almost felt like a torch must have been nearby, but Makoto wasn’t surprised reality didn’t quite work right in a distortion. The air was thick and gross, smelling of corpses, molting with rot, and it was dank and damp. He did his honest best at ignoring it and kept walking. “So where are we?”  
    
 “This area here,” she said as they walked into a square room, a clearing. “This used to be a lobby… most of the distortions don’t have this room…”  
    
 “Is that a bad thing?”  
    
 “Most likely.” Chigusa crossed her arms. “It means we’re at the wrong distortion… but all of them are interconnected. We’ll find our way there soon enough. Our goal is to get to the main room, the temple.”  
    
 “And what’s the best way to…” Makoto’s voice drifted off as his finger twitched. He grabbed his blade and spun around.  
    
 Creaking, gnawing sounds came from around them.  
    
 Chigusa grabbed a card and quickly turned it into a pink spear.  
    
 Skeletons came into the room, one after another. Some were buried with their armor and weapons, others bare to their bones. Some held books and wore robes, others seemed to be constructs – having twice as many arms as they should. Their jaws creaked as the bones gnawed against one another.  
    
 “So.” Makoto pointed his blade forward. “What’s the plan?”  
    
 Chigusa looked around. “We fight our way!”  
    
 “Got it!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Nagisa blew off the dust of an old book and put it in his lap. He was sitting cross-legged on the tatami floor mats of the shrine’s library. “Rei I found another one of your journals.” He flipped a couple pages; it was a journal, but checking the dates he sighed. “Nah, this is after that day.” He was curious as balls but he put it away. They had work to do.   
   
 “Nagisa…”  
   
 Nagisa looked up, glancing to Rei. “Yeah?”  
   
 “Nanase…” Rei swallowed hard. “He’s worrying me.”  
   
 “Mhm.” Nagisa nodded, putting the journal down and grabbing another book. “Which is why we have to find something, do anything… or…”  
   
 “Or?” Rei grabbed another book as well. “Or what?”  
   
 _“Ever hear about the Tower of the Dead, Rei-chan?”_ was what Nagisa _wanted_ to ask, but he knew better than to talk about classified material. “I don’t know. I’m just scared.” Looking back at his book, he dusted it off and frowned. He read the title and his eyes widened. “What?” Nagisa tapped his forehead, where his third eye was. He looked at the title again and winced. Why did it hurt to read those words? His eye twitched and he closed them. “Rei-chan?”  
    
 Rei was by several bookshelves and had to look over his shoulder to look at Nagisa. “What is it?”  
    
 Nagisa held the book up. “What does it say? On the book?”  
    
 “What?” Rei scoffed. “You can’t read Kanji?”  
    
 “Rei-chan, just read it.”  
    
 Rei paused. “That’s Hazuki-basama’s handwriting.”  
    
 “I know. What does it say?”  
    
 “Sorrow Gale.”  
    
 Nagisa winced again.  
    
 Rei blinked. “Nagisa?”  
    
 He put the book down. He opened the cover, then flipped the page. Scanning the paper, he flipped the page again, and again, and again.  
    
 Rei walked over. “What is it? What is the book about?”  
    
 “Nothing…” Nagisa frowned. “All the pages… they’re blank.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Chigusa and Makoto were both out of breath when they came across two massive doors.  
    
 Makoto examined it. “All the architecture until now looked… sort of Egyptian, but this is like… it’s almost like it came out of Europe?”  
    
 Chigusa looked up. “It resembles all of humanity, inside at least.”  
    
 “All of… humanity?”  
    
 “On the other side is where we want to go,” she explained. “But the doors won’t open for me. They will only open for a few people. Even then, the temple only wants to speak to a certain elementalist right now. Only he can open the door.”  
    
 Makoto frowned. “What?”  
    
 “You can open the door, though.” Chigusa looked at him. “When you share a bed with someone, it’s natural for their spirit essence to linger all over you. This door will open for you, Makoto.”  
    
 Makoto put his hand against the door and pushed open. First, it felt like he was pushing a mountain; then, a single finger opened both doors. Makoto looked inside. The cathedral had light filtering through the windows at the ceiling (weren’t they underground?) and the floor had a faded red carpet going all the way down the aisle, greyed candles and worn benches on either side. “What the heck is this?”  
    
 “Thank you.” Chigusa walked forward.  
    
 Makoto followed her, but paused when he got halfway. He looked up to the stained glass atop the altar.  
    
 The first image depicted a blond with pink eyes visible from the waist up, hand over his heart, being burned alive by black fires. Nagisa. The second was an image of a man with a gun in his hand, and a hand over his heart, chains pooling under his chin like a necklace. Haruka. The third, the middle one, was undefined, and so was the fourth. The fifth one, however, was visible. Orange and white, the glass depicted a man with a hand over his heart, being burned alive by white fires.  
    
 Chigusa stood at the altar and closed her eyes. Only the third eye of elder Hazuki ever had the power to truly speak to the stars, but she could try. She raised her hands up to the stained glass, and the images disappeared. Replacing the glass was… nothing. She saw shadows of stars, shadows of the cosmos but… Nothing. Chigusa opened her eyes. “No, then…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
   
    
 In another time, another dimension, another realm…  
    
 “Please…” Kisumi threw his hands up to the stars. “Please… don’t leave me here. Speak to me!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “I see.” Chigusa turned around. “Kisumi.”  
    
 “Huh?” Makoto’s eyes widened. “Wh-What? I have a b-boyfriend…”  
    
 “Huh?” Chigusa scoffed. “No! Ki-su-mi!”  
    
 “I-I really don’t want to…” He looked away, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t swing that w—”  
    
 “It’s a name.”  
    
 “Name?” Makoto paused. “Whose name? Who is that?”  
    
 “A member of the Hazuki family. Not by blood, but by marriage.” Chigusa looked down the stairs leading to the altar. “Nagisa’s grandfather, and someone I knew very well. Once upon a time, anyway. It’s been years since then. I can feel him, standing here. We’re currently occupying the same space, at the same time, but in different timelines.”  
    
 Makoto took a step back. “Chigusa…”  
    
 “I had hoped I could have everything figured out by coming to the cathedral, but it’s not that simple. I’m sorry. I dragged you into this, but I still need your help… though, the best way to do that would be to explain the legend to you.”  
    
 “Legend?” Makoto tilted his head. “You mean like prophecies? Stories? Those aren’t real.”  
    
 “Witchcraft began through legends and stories.” Chigusa walked down the steps and waved her arm to the side. Along the wall, a border constructed and a mural was slowly painting itself, bit by bit, detail by detail, using unhurried and careful brushstrokes without brushes. “The Terror Child. That’s the name for it… translated, of course. It means something a little different in Latin, but its close enough.”  
    
 Makoto turned and gasped.  
    
 There was a child, bathing in blood, corpses around him.  
    
 “Look closely, Makoto.”  
    
 Makoto squirmed, but he walked up to the mural. He noticed two people that made his eyes widened. “That’s Haru’s parents… and here! Rin’s!”  
    
 “These are the bodies killed by the Terror Child.”  
    
 Makoto looked over his shoulder.  
    
 “The Terror Child seeks to be reunited with the Horror Fiend, as they were once a single entity. White and Black. The Original Chrysalis, and the ultimate one.”  
    
 “The Ultimate Chrysalis?” Makoto turned to her. He looked to the ground, slightly to the left. “Wait a second, you mean… you mean Nagisa?”  
    
 “The Horror Fiend is the one who harbours the Sorrow Gale. Witches pass it down from generation to generation, sealing the torment into the incomplete soul of unborn children, during the ninth month of pregnancy. The Sorrow Gale is the Black Chrysalis. It is the Chrysalis of Life—it can birth a thousand of its kin.”  
    
 Makoto stared at her, eyes narrowing. “What exactly is the Sorrow Gale?”  
    
 “It’s different for everyone, even if it’s entirely the same…” Chigusa crossed her arms. “But for Nagisa, it is his endless inner torment… It’s the truth of the Hazuki clan, Eve. Before every event, like New Years, or Christmas, the night before is the ‘Eve’. Halloween is short for Hallow’s Eve. The Hazuki clan protected the ‘Eve’ that would bring forth the Chrysalises. It is the price they paid years ago. It’s sealed beyond the recesses of his mind. Not even a psion can bring it to the forefront without Nagisa’s consent.”  
    
 “Wait.” Makoto’s eyes widened. “That’s why, in the war, Nagisa’s Chrysalis was different! It gave the other Chrysalises a mind!”  
    
 “You’re perceptive, Makoto.” Chigusa smiled. “I’m glad.”  
    
 “So, this, White Chrysalis… it’s goal is to merge with Nagisa?”  
    
 “It’s hard to explain… and I admit, I… don’t even know where to start. But the Terror Child, in some ways, you awakened it. Pennyroyal wards off the evil eye. You found one that was corrupted, necrotic. Lighting it means you burned the evil eye. You let it touch your mind, your memories… I believe Seijuro, a powerful psion, learned where Nagisa was thanks to you, and the madness took over.”  
    
 “Oh no…” Makoto put a hand over his mouth.  
    
 “Don’t worry; it’s okay. Nagisa’s safe, for now. In fact, if I can be blunt, I think you did the best thing possible. Nanase and the others now know there is something very wrong. Nagisa was brought back from the dead due to Rin and Ai’s efforts, but it won’t be clear sailing from here. Nagisa still needs to be protected at all cost.” Chigusa uncrossed her arms. “I… I made Nanase believe I’ve fled to a distortion.”  
    
 “I see.” Makoto nodded. “You’re hoping they’ll find the distortion to… basically, what we’re looking for? To the White Chrysalis, or… Kisumi?”  
    
 “Both,” she explained. “Kisumi is Seijuro’s keeper, a zombie who exists in a distortion to eternally imprison and soothe him. Seijuro.”  
    
 “Seijuro,” Makoto repeated. “This Seijuro… he’s some kind of, sacrifice?”  
    
 “In a way, yes. If Seijuro found Nagisa, though… it means the madness is too strong. Kisu’ can’t keep him at bay.”  
    
 Makoto nodded. “So, what do we do?”  
    
 “I’m… not entirely sure. I planned on getting Nanase to find the way there, and lead us to the forbidden oceans, but even if we find the temple… I need a way to stop Seijuro’s eventual rampage. At this point, it’s best to move along the assumption his humanity is dead and the Chrysalis is in control.”  
    
 “And…” Makoto stepped forward once, twice. “That’s where I come in?”  
    
 “Not quite…” Chigusa moved hair out of her eyes. “I’ve looked into Nagisa’s mind, into his memories. The task before us is monumental, possibly impossible, but I know I can work with you to soothe the Terror Child.”  
    
 Hearing the name again, Makoto turned to the painting. “So is this guy… the destroyer of worlds, or whatever? Isn’t that what prophecies are about?”  
    
 “No. The Bringer of the End is another player.”  
    
 “Another?”  
    
 “There’s an old tale…” Chigusa looked back to the stained glass. “Witches used to pass the story down from generation to generation, but The Eye put an end to it. In an attempt to become refined, The Eye cast away many savage ways of their ancestors, but in throwing out the bad they threw out some good as well. This old tale… it spoke of the Horror Fiend, the Terror Child, the Fool, the Saviour, and the Bringer of the End… These names are translated, and not perfectly so…” She frowned. “They are concepts that can’t be understood in language. They are the tale of Chrysalises and how they were brought into this world.”  
    
 “A prophecy?”  
    
 “Yes.”  
    
 “Prophecies can’t be true.” Makoto shook his head. “If prophecies and legends are told, that mean that something along the lines of fate or foresight, seeing the future, would have to exist. Those don’t.”  
    
 “No. They don’t,” she agreed. “But there are agents of change who have been working millennia, since the beginning of this existence, to make it happen. When spirit energy came to this planet, and life began in the form of microbiotic spheres, there were those who wanted things to happen. That is a prophecy. Not a story of what will happen, but a wish for the future that has been set in motion.”  
    
 “What…” Makoto’s eyes narrowed. “What are you? What are you even talking about? What are you saying? Life… came to the planet?  
    
 “The future is not defined, Makoto. But the Chrysalises… they’ve been forcing the world to live a certain way, carving out the future _they_ want. Psions know of this. They speak of it, and are called mad. We see the end. That is the madness of the psions: A person who is forced to endlessly see the visions of this world burning in fires of white and black. The image sears into their minds, rotting their consciousness, preparing them to become vessels of Chrysalises… as Seijuro has become. ”  
    
 Makoto pulled out his blade and pointed it at her.  
    
 “The Chrysalises want the Bringer of the End to come, to arrive at Pandemonium, and offer his or her life to the Sanctum of Stars… and, that, would be the end of this planet and the afterlife above us. The end of all life and existence… so this existence will be erased, and the cycle will begin anew.”  
    
 Makoto swallowed hard. “Bringer of the End? Who is that?”  
    
 Chigusa shook her head. “He is just another player. He, or she, will come when they are revealed. It’s how it happened to the universe that existed before ours, and the one that will exist next if we let this prophecy come true. Theoretically anyway… there is a finite number of times existance will start again, until it’s gone forever.”  
    
 “You’re… crazy.”  
    
 “Do you really think I’m crazy?”  
    
 Makoto refused to answer. “So, you want to stop this whole cascade of death and destruction?”  
    
 “Yes.”  
    
 Makoto put his weapon down.  
    
 Chigusa shook her head. “The White and Black Chrysalises are part of the end, as are the Fool and the Saviour. All we know is the Saviour must die.” She walked past him and to the mural. “But, c’mon… enough of legends… none of them have to come true if we can stop the White Chrysalis, and keep it separated from Nagisa.”  
    
 “And the temple you’re looking for,” Makoto muttered. “What is that?” He turned to her.  
    
 Chigusa looked up to the painting. “As I said, the distortion where Kisumi lives, and soothes Seijuro until now. The distortion his soul is tied to, and…”  
    
 “Right.” Makoto nodded. “When a distortion fades, all products of the distortion, anything even partially modified by the distortion… it all gets either reverted or eliminated from existence. Everything is put back the way it was otherwise, but if something relies too heavily on the distortion…”  
    
 “Exactly.” Chigusa looked down. “If we don’t solve this, you, Haru, Rin, everyone else who has been modified may no longer be the same person… this timeline will cease to exist. If one’s life story depends too much on the distortion, such as Nagisa or Momotarou…”  
    
 “They’ll die.”  
   
 “They’ll be erased from existence.” Chigusa nodded. “But not just them. Even our memories of them will cease to exist. We won’t even know they ever existed.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Rei’s phone went off.  
    
 “Shh,” Nagisa teased, “We’re in a library!”  
    
 Rei rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone. “Ah.” His eyes widened. “Makoto?” He flipped it open.  
    
 Nagisa practically tackled Rei to look at the screen. “Mako-chan! Where are you!? We’re all worried sick!”  
    
 “Rei,” Makoto said softly, “Nagisa… please listen, okay? This is urgent.”  
    
 Rei scowled. “Are you alright? Are you harmed? Where are you? Your location?”  
    
 “Nagisa is in danger, Rei.”  
    
 Rei’s breathing hitched.  
    
 “What?” Nagisa bit his lip. “Why?”  
    
 “Seijuro’s goal is Nagisa. Keep him safe, no matter what. Seijuro will come again. Okay?”  
    
 Rei frowned. “How do you know this?”  
    
 “Rei, please.” Makoto closed his eyes. “I’m on your side. So keep Nagisa away from Seijuro, no matter the sacrifice.” He opened his eyes. “Nagisa?”  
    
 “Y-Yes, Mako-chan?”  
    
 “If you have to kill yourself to stop Sei from getting you—do it.”  
    
 Nagisa’s eyes widened, jaw turning slack.  
    
 “Makoto!” Rei yelled.  
    
 “Seijuro is a Chrysalis, and his goal is the Chrysalis lying dormant inside Nagisa.”  
    
 “Dormant…?” Nagisa put a hand to his chest. “Inside me?—N-No! I’m good now! It’s all gone!”  
    
 Rei looked at Nagisa, equally as confused, then back to his phone.  
    
 Makoto shook his head. “I gotta go… you won’t be able to trace this call. I know you’re going to try anyway. Please tell Haru what I told you, and tell him to read up on the Terror Child and the Horror Fiend. Pardon the pun, but apparently The Eye went on a witch hunt for anything about them, but I’m sure he’ll be able to find something. And to search distortions as well. That’s where you’ll find Chigusa Hanamura.”  
    
 Rei and Nagisa stared, frozen, unable to properly reply.  
    
 “I love you guys,” whispered Makoto. “I’m sorry. But I’m on your side, I promise.”  
    
 The screen went black.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Did I take too long?”  
    
 Chigusa dropped to her knees, shaking her head. Warping reality at two points to fake a phone call wasn’t an easy task, but she was happy Makoto didn’t take his time. The distortion had made the spell a little easier, but it was the lack of phone service in distortions that needed her to cast the incantation anyway. “I’ll need rest, though.”  
    
 “Go for it.” Makoto nodded. “We have to plan our next move from here on out anyway.”  
    
 Chigusa closed her eyes, but heard creaking noises. She looked up.  
    
 Skeletons slumped into the cathedral.  
    
 “Don’t worry about these guys.” Makoto aimed his weapon at them. “You take it easy. I’ll take care of them.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 It had been five minutes. Only five. It had only been five minutes since they got the phone call from Rei and Nagisa. Well, it was from Rei, Nagisa stood there unable to say anything. The news of a Chrysalis still inside him probably sealed his voice off for a while. It was scary, Haruka thought, to see Nagisa silent. Haruka stared out the window. They went back to one of the briefing rooms. His arms were at his side, tightly against his body. He said nothing.  
    
 The silence became unnerving.  
    
 Sousuke sighed, if only to make noise. “What the hell does that even mean?”  
    
 “I don’t know,” Haruka admitted. He turned to them, his cloak making a sweeping motion. “Terror Child… Horror Fiend…”  
    
 “It sounds like a bunch of bullshit,” Rin grumbled. “How do we even know this is related to anything?”  
    
 “We don’t,” Sousuke muttered.  
    
 Haruka cocked his head to the side. “Makoto wouldn’t throw us off the trail…” He crossed his arms; it was more of a way for him to hug himself than anything, try to keep it together. “Legends, prophecies, stories… Makoto’s right. That’s how witchcraft began. Before The All-Seeing Eye, before our modern organisations, witches lived as archetypes, sages of old, priests who knew how to touch the divine, a wise woman who spoke wisdom, the witch atop a hill… Before written language and education were accessible, before ink and paper became a mode of philosophy… everything was passed through oral traditions, through these stories.”  
    
 Rin’s eyes narrowed, Sousuke raised his head, both of them feeling apprehensive.  
    
 But Nitori stepped forward. “Yes… it was through stories that Sensei, Hazuki-sensei, taught us the path of the witch. We learned of herbs through the stories—like ivy.”  
    
 “I know this one,” Momotarou spoke up. “Um, that’s in Greek mythos, Hera wanted to destroy… Dionysos? I think? But his nurses put ivy-leaves on his crib to keep him safe. That’s how we learned to use ivy for protection. These stories are made to help us, aren’t they?”  
    
 “Exactly.” Haruka nodded. “The stories themselves are the roots of witchcraft. The exact words or even the meaning may be time-lost, but they are the core of our abilities. We are born with enhanced spirit essence because our parents nurtured their ability, and the spirit essence within their cells formed a zygote that was able to see above the regular plain of reality. If we want to understand legends, understand a time different than ours, then we need to… in some ways, put faith.”  
    
 Sousuke raised an eyebrow. “Never thought I would hear you of all people say that.”  
    
 “Yeah.” Rin shrugged. “You know sometimes I wonder why you’re the Iris, but gotta hand it to ya, you know your stuff.”  
    
 Haruka rolled his eyes. “But Terror Child, Horror Fiend…”  
    
 “I…” Nitori frowned, closing his eyes. He put his hands together. “I heard that name before… but I can’t remember when.”  
    
 “You’re a psion,” Momotarou reminded, “Can’t you like… search your memories?”  
    
 He shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Momo.”  
    
 “Well, shit.” Rin sighed, putting a hand on his hip. “We’ve got to find out what the hell these things are, and until we do know, we guard Nagisa.”  
    
 “Nagisa,” Nitori repeated in a barely audible whisper. His eyes went wide. “Nagisa!”  
    
 They turned to him.  
    
 He put a hand to his mouth. “I remember… He called himself a Horror Fiend… when he was corrupt.”  
    
 “What?” Rin frowned. “When was this?”  
    
 “When Sousuke, I mean, Nagisa, when they got you and used you to lure me out,” Nitori explained. “Just before the big fight… Nagisa put his, tentacle around my mouth. He called himself the Horror Fiend. I remember he did. His Chrysalis is the Horror Fiend.”  
    
 Haruka raised his head. “Nagisa’s Chrysalis is gone, though.”  
    
 Sousuke looked at Rin, Rin looked at Nitori, and Nitori looked back at Sousuke.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes narrowed. “It isn’t, is it?”  
    
 “Well, we…” Nitori looked away. “Promised not to tell.”  
    
 Rin scratched his cheek. “Uh, Captain?”  
    
 Sousuke sighed. “I believe, at this point it should be on a need-to-know basis.”  
    
 Haruka glanced to the side. “Momotarou.”  
    
 Momo blinked. “Huh?”  
    
 “Kou is with Miho Amakata. Please escort her to her room, and inform her I’m having her on lockdown and twenty-four hour surveillance.” When Rin didn’t freak out, Haruka figured he wouldn’t get any other objection, though both Ai and Momo seemed confused. “Seijuro Mikoshiba and Chigusa Hanamura are both psions who have gone rogue. One is steeped in madness while the other knows her personally. She’s not safe, and we can’t worry about her while we’re dealing with all of this, understood?”  
    
 Momotarou nodded. “I’ll do it.”  
    
 “Good.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Sorry.”  
    
 Gou stood up from her seat and smiled. “It’s alright. I’m not surprised.”  
    
 Momotarou tilted his head.  
    
 “Not really.” Gou shook her head. “I know how The Eye works.”  
    
 The two of them walked down the hallway, towards Gou’s room.  
    
 “That and…” Gou’s eyes fell to the floor. “If I see Seijuro again… I’ll kill him. I know I will. I don’t know how… I still haven’t learned any offensive spirit arts, but I’ll find a way.”  
    
 Momotarou eyed her.  
    
 Gou looked at him.  
    
 “I know he’s done horrible things, but I…” Momotarou’s voice went weak as he looked away. “I still, but I still love him, you know.” He sighed. “Maybe I’m dumb, but I’ve always looked forward to the day he’d…”  
    
 “You.” Gou froze. “You don’t honestly think that’s possible, do you?”  
    
 “Maybe.” Momotarou took a deep breath before facing her again, making eye contact. “When Rin and Ai dealt with the spirits back home, I told him maybe we could do something about his sis’, that we could use Ai to free you. He didn’t believe me then too, so I’m not surprised if you don’t believe me now.”  
    
 “Even if!” Gou swiped her key card through the slider and the door opened. She looked back at him. “I can’t forgive him for what he did!”  
    
 “How can you say that?” Momo’s lower lip wibbled. “He’s like you, a psion!”  
    
 “He’s the one giving us bad names!”  
    
 “Oh yeah, you can get all fucking high and mighty if you want, Kou—but we all know before you met Ai you were freaking out every three seconds! Even in the first month, you were always screaming and curling up in a ball because you always felt you like you were going to lose control!”  
    
 “Yeah, but—!”  
    
 “But what?” Momotarou raised his voice. “You think just because my brother’s not as strong as you, because my brother didn’t have the friends or the support that you do, because my brother had to take care of me and everyone else—you think those are good enough reasons to trash talk him?” He took a step forward, forcing her to take a step back. “Ai told me you only turned yourself in because it was a psion that killed your parents. Did you ever think that maybe you wouldn’t have known what the signs were if your parents were around?”  
    
 Gou took another step back.  
    
 “You were only a well behaved psion because you started earlier, thanks to him!” Momotarou had a growl burning in the back of his throat. “Sure, what he did… he can’t ever undo that! It was horrible, and it ruined your life and Rin’s life and everyone’s life… but don’t forget you were two steps away from being _just_ like him!”  
    
 Gou stared, eyes wide, back against the wall.  
    
 Momotarou huffed and turned around. It probably wasn’t the most mature thing he did, but he ran away.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “I always thought a Chrysalis was the monster we fought… but it’s not that simple.” Haruka stared out the window. “So that’s the truth behind Nagisa.”  
    
 Sousuke nodded. “Yeah.”  
    
 “Sorrow Gale.” Haruka looked at his hand. “All the answers we need are behind those doors. Nagisa, he… he brought us together. Our parents died, Rin. Sousuke’s family took you and Kou in. Makoto’s took me in. We were so… broken, even then.” He looked over his shoulder. “And the Mahō. Was it Nagisa who brought us together, or the Sorrow Gale?”  
    
 “Hey.” Rin’s hand twitched, mind ready to whisper an incantation. “If you’re planning on opening the Sorrow Gale…”  
    
 “No.” Haruka turned to them. “But I have another plan.”  
    
 Nitori swallowed hard. “Please don’t tell me…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Gou was alone in her room.  
    
 She put her back against the door and slowly slumped to the ground. She brought her knees up and hugged them, pressing her face into her legs. She curled in a ball and let the words sink in. Who was she, to harbour such hate? It was justified and yet it wasn’t. Too often, she knew, her brother tried to see things in black and white. She hated that. But then again, that would make her a hypocrite. How foolish could she have been, to think something composed of several murders, a psion, and true madness, could be as simply defined as good or evil?  
    
 There were more pieces to the puzzle, and she had refused to acknowledge them from the start.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 They stood in the courtyard of the shrine. Nagisa stood at the centre, eyes wide. He stood on the tile that had a star marking, where the nexus was. Behind him was Rei whose scowl was fierce and whose blood burned beneath his veins. In front of them was Haruka, and behind him were Sousuke and Rin. Ai stood next to Rin, a little behind, hugging his arms in his apprehensive state, conflicted feelings swirling in his blue eyes.  
    
 “How!?” Rei yelled, “How could you asked that of him?”  
    
 Haruka ignored his outburst, focusing only on the blond in front of him. “It’s your choice; it offers us the best possible chance of locating Chigusa Hanamura and Seijuro Mikoshiba, as well as increasing our chance of finding Makoto. It’s not without risk… as I’m sure you’re aware.” His eyes narrowed. “The choice is yours, though.”  
    
 “Haru-chan…” Nagisa’s voice was soft. He tilted his head. “When you say it like that, you make it sound like you’ll never forgive me if I refuse.”  
    
 Haruka rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth; silence was his weapon.  
    
 Rei began whirling wind around him. “You’re forcing his hand for your game!”  
    
 “Rei,” Nagisa spoke firmly. “Enough.”  
    
 Rei blinked, looking at him. “You can’t possibly be thinking of going on with this ridiculous plan?”  
    
 “I know you’re scared, Rei. I am too.” Nagisa smiled nonetheless. “But I am a witch of The Eye and the Mahō. The White Psion is a case that I heard about when I was studying for the entrance exams. I never knew it was Seijuro… not until now. It’s something that has deeply affected The Eye, my friends, and as Seijuro was a psion hiding under Chiyo Hazuki’s roof… that makes the Mahō responsible. I have many reasons to do this, but above all else… I am also a soldier. It is my duty to undertake life-threatening missions.”  
    
 Rei’s eyes softened. He grabbed Nagisa’s shoulders, shaking his head. “But… to use yourself as bait?”  
    
 Nagisa shook him off and turned to Haruka. “I’ll do it.”  
    
 Rei gasped. “Nagisa!”  
    
 “Rei,” Sousuke spoke. “We’ll be here.”  
    
 “Hell yeah we will.” Rin smirked. “We might be dangling Nagisa as bait, but we’re not going to hand him over that easy.”  
    
 “All of us,” Nitori added. “That means you too.”  
    
 “But…” Rei sighed. “I do not like this at all. We shall be sitting here like ducks! Can we possibly perform some ritual to enhance the safety, or speed up the process? Rin, that is your department.”  
    
 “Ritual?” Rin cocked his head. “And do what exactly?”  
    
 “Something!” Rei yelled.  
    
 Haruka looked to the side. “What would Makoto do?”  
    
 “You know best,” Sousuke answered.  
    
 “I doubt that,” Haruka admitted. “We barely…” A silence passed and his shoulders tightened. “Rin, why not use Nagisa’s spirit essence to create a distortion?”  
    
 “Eh?” Rin’s face distorted. “How the fuck am I going to do that?”  
    
 Haruka turned and looked at Ai.  
    
 Nitori blinked. “Me?”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Momotarou walked along the beach. The central nerve was on an island between the spaces of visible light. He had seen the white sand beaches from windows, but he’d never really walked down to them. He always had something to do when he was at The Eye. He walked along the wooden pier and then stepped onto the sand. He looked all the way to the horizon where a border of aurora lights seemed to display the end of the distortion.  
    
 “I’m useless,” Momo muttered. “I shouldn’t have fucking said that…” He grabbed his hair. “Agh, I should buy her a latte and bake a cake and make it up to her!”  
    
 Time and space began to squeeze.  
    
 Momotarou felt a bend and he looked over his shoulder.  
    
 With a flicker of red light, a man stepped out.  
    
 Momotarou’s eyes widened.  
    
 “Hey…” Seijuro opened his eyes. “You’ve gotten big, kiddo.”  
    
 Momotarou stopped breathing.  
    
 “Why don’t you come with me for a bit?”


	10. Chrysalis of Chrysalis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering I only got one comment thread last update either people have lost interest or they're mad at me LOL. Well, don't be afraid to comment if you'd like to tell me how I'm doing! *Sweats*
> 
> * * *

_It was during the third world war. Nagisa, Sousuke, and Rin were dealing with the necromancer who was causing the problem. That left Haruka and Makoto to deal with the cleanup duty. Sousuke entrusted Makoto with the task since he would make the best judgement call as the second-in-command; that, and the fact that he was a light shade only worked to their advantage. Haruka was chosen to go with him because Sousuke knew their ability to cooperate on the field was second to none.  
    
 They ran through the pyramid.  
    
 Being the history geek he was, Makoto had to urge himself not to look at anything, just dive headfirst. The hieroglyphs and murals on the walls were beautiful, but the wisps of black winds caught his attention.  
    
 Black cords whirled in the air.  
    
 Makoto followed it. He ran down the dark hallway until he came until a large open room—floor to ceiling in gold, coming alive with the torchlight of a thousand fires. His breath would have been taken away if he didn’t force himself to come to a halt. Where large golden figures loomed over was an open coffin. Black lines had lifted out a mummy, infusing into the white wraps. The Pharaohs were among the most powerful witches in their time, and to revive one…  
    
 The linen wraps shattered and the figure opened its arms, fingers uncurling after years.  
    
 Haruka ran past him then jumped to the side.  
    
 The Pharaoh swirled his hand in a circle, creating a wheel of fire before unleashing it.  
    
 Haruka barely dodged; he landed with a twirl and fought back with several bullets.  
    
 A red barrier formed between them and the bullets were ineffective.  
    
 Makoto ran forward, lunging into the air. He held his blade skyward before crashing it down. The Pharaoh, however, glided through the air, dodging it with ease. Makoto’s attack didn’t connect and he landed a few steps from the coffin.  
    
 Haruka fired.  
    
 The Pharaoh twirled to the side, not caring that the bullets exploded against his gold room. It flew forward and grabbed Haruka’s throat. The linen wraps twirled around it’s wrist before wrapping around Haruka’s neck. Haruka’s eyes widened and he brought up his gun, but the Pharaoh slapped his weapons away as if they were nothing but toys. The Pharaoh lifted Haruka off the ground and breathed out a black mist.  
    
 Haruka held his breath; but, quickly, he realised that was the undead’s plan all along.  
    
 Lights swirled around Makoto, arcane circles with microscopic patterns and details too intricate for the human eye to detect. “Hold on Haru,” he whispered. “Just a little more.” The energy whirled around him and he began the incantation. It was a poem, really. Most light rituals were a hymn or a melody, to please the choirs of the angels. He sang the tune in his head. Energy began to swirl together in the ceiling and he could feel the spirits of the fallen pour themselves into the magic rune. “Almost…” He opened his eyes to see Haruka barely holding it together. His heart skipped a beat. He slammed his hand down on the floor.  
    
 A beam of light pierced down, cleansing the poisoned air and ripping through the Pharaoh’s spine.  
    
 The resurrection spell had ended.  
    
 The corpse fell on top of Haruka, who caught it in his arms. A deeply disturbed look formed on his face, but his life as a witch came first. He brought it to the coffin and put the body back inside. Although vandalised and burned, possibly beyond saving, he knew the witches who were familiar with Egyptian witchcraft would be able to perform some kind of damage control with the body, new mummy wraps and all.  
    
 Makoto grabbed the huge cover and heaved it over the coffin.  
    
 Haruka shivered, shuddering off the thought of a dead body over him. “You…”  
    
 Makoto took a deep breath and looked at him. He didn’t know it, but the lingering spirit residue of the light spells had him glowing, although it was fading.  
    
 “You did it,” Haruka whispered. “You saved me…”  
    
 Makoto grinned. “Yeah.”  
    
 “You, I…”  
    
 He paused. “Haru?”  
    
 “I can, always count on you.”  
    
 “Aha.” Makoto gave a nervous laugh. He scratched his cheek and tried to speak, but it came out as a little sputter of senseless words.  
    
 Haruka walked over, eyeing his best friend before he put his hands on Makoto’s shoulders. He went on his tippy toes. Softly, gently, he pressed his lips against Makoto’s cheek.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened.  
    
 Haruka’s cheeks warmed slightly and he looked away.  
    
 Makoto giggled something akin to a four year old schoolgirl, and his cheeks burned. He scratched his nose, looking all over the room before looking at Haru again. “C-Could I…?”  
    
 Haruka looked at him.  
    
 Makoto leaned in and kissed his cheek.  
    
 Haruka smiled.  
    
 “Aha, I just, I just did that!” Makoto covered his face with both of his hands.  
    
 Haruka looked at him, catching a glimpse of Makoto’s smile between his hands.  
    
 That smile… _  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Momotarou stared down the steps. He looked to the auroras of the distortion and the forbidden waters. The central sanctum, between the four. Behind him was the Chrysalis Cathedral. Without any railings, steps of perfectly cut stone went down to a lower platform. Momotarou stood at the halfway point between them. In his right hand was a bow. It was made of steel, making it heavier than what he was used to. His own bow, which was back in the shrine, was made of red oak. Handmade, Momotarou had been carving his own bows since he was eight. He found red oak to just… work with him.  
    
 When they were kids Nagisa had joked, once, that red oak liked him because his hair was reddish.  
    
 Rei hypothesised that the spirit essence of the red oak must have been similar to his.  
    
 Nitori pointed out that it was okay to just have a preference.  
    
 Seijuro told him…  
    
 Momotarou’s eyes softened. He squeezed the grip of his metal weapon. Unlike his bow, this one wasn’t hollow. Momo always used his spirit essence to create hollow tubes inside his weapon; he stored his energy in there when he was taking a shot. This one was heavy and solid. But Momo wasn’t dumb. He knew steel was one hell of a metal. His shots would _kill_ whatever enemy he was being forced up against.  
    
 It was a composite bow, made of multiple strings and parts. This specific bow had its gears designed to require less energy to pull back the string. Probably to deal with the heaviness of steel. Momotarou eyed the weapon. He didn’t know why he never liked composite bows. He started with a simple one-piece training bow and eventually he moved on to recurved bows, which had the tips curve away from the archer. Those helped with force and energy. Momo always liked short recurved bows. Didn’t take as much to lug them around, but they could still take care of any problem.  
    
 Any problem…  
    
 Momotarou looked behind him, to the cathedral. Seijuro asked him to trust him. Momotarou knew better than to say yes, but… It was weird, having a conversation with his brother, after so many years. Momo wasn’t the same person he used to be. Neither was Sei.  
    
 But…  
    
 Momotarou looked up, knowing that the afterlife was not above them in the distortion.  
    
 He looked down the stairs.  
    
 Momotarou had his job, his role to play.  
    
 His job was to reunite two people. Seijuro explained the White Chrysalis to him, and spoke of the Black as well. Order and chaos. Yin and yang. The two sides of the coin. Seijuro had also told him the tale of the Terror Child and Horror Fiend, Latin names that were horribly translated. Seijuro had laughed, asking him if he thought they were silly, but Momotarou couldn’t bring himself to laugh. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Alright. Here we go.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 The sun was setting over the water’s surface, painting the sky red. The shrine seemed to soak up the colours. With a whirl of snow, the stage was set.  
    
 Rin hovered above the ground, over the nexus. “Ready?”  
    
 Nagisa was ten steps in front of Rin, with his back to the redhead. He looked to Ai, who was five steps in front of him. They stared at each other. “Ready.”  
    
 Intent.  
    
 Focus.  
    
 Will.  
    
  _‘This one calls for you,’_ Rin let his thoughts whisper to the spirits. He waved his hand, constructing trigram after trigram. _‘This one wills you.’_ The runes began to glow. Heaven of Creativity, Lake of Tranquility, Fire of Clarity, Thunder of Initiative, Wind of Gentleness, Water of Motion, Mountains of Wholeness, and Earth of Receptiveness. _‘Hear his wants.’_ Rin raised his hands. _‘Hear his wishes.’_  
    
 The runes formed together, swirling into a white sphere.  
    
  _‘Allow us to take, so we may give.’_  
    
 Silver metal wires shot out of the sphere, piercing Nagisa’s back. When they ripped through his chest, they were coloured pink. The flailed and shot out, whirling in the air.  
    
 Nitori opened his hand and the cords began to coil together in a sphere in front of him.  
    
 Nagisa dropped to the ground, placing a hand over his heart.  
    
 Rei gasped.  
    
 Nitori took a deep breath, looking to Rin. “I don’t know if I can do this…”  
    
 “It’s okay, flower bud.” Rin forced a smile, eyes glowing with white light. “I’ll hold the energy together, you distort reality.”  
    
 Nitori swallowed hard, closing his eyes. The sphere began to ripple and shiver, vibrating and spinning. He thought of the black hole, the one he used to absorb necrosis… He did the reverse, letting the pink sphere swirl and swirl, outwards. He brought a hand back, took a deep breath, and threw it forward.  
    
 The pink sphere merged with the white one and the two colours began to spin in what looked like a cute strawberry vanilla milkshake until blood splattered out.  
    
 Nagisa cringed, squeezing his shirt.  
    
 The sphere darkened, turning pitch black before being clouded by smoke of the same shade.  
    
 Nitori breathed and opened his mind. He imagined the energy expanding, growing claws and hands, reaching for this reality, grabbing it and changing it.  
    
 A hand shot out skyward.  
    
 “That’s!” Sousuke yelled.  
    
 Rei gasped. “The same as Nagisa’s Chrysalis!”  
    
 In the palm of the hand, a line split open and teeth pierced through, a tongue next. The mouth closed before opening wide to scream.  
    
 Rin winced. “I can’t hold this!”  
    
 Sousuke and Rei pulled out their weapons.  
    
 The mouth of the hand closed and from the line an eye opened. It scouted around before diving forward.  
    
 Nitori screamed, but it went past him.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened. “Me?”  
    
 The hand snatched him and crunched before yanking him back into the void.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Searing purple raked against his flesh. Haruka couldn’t breathe. In a place between existence, between mind and matter, between mass and energy… the spaces of in between—the void—Haruka screamed. He felt the purple hands roam his body, touching him in ways that made him shiver and twitch. He could feel them lick his eyeballs and bite his thighs. He felt bile rise into his throat and he coughed violently. Everything burned. It burned with the madness of a thousand asylums.  
    
 He was swimming in a sea of black fire.  
    
 The hands, like chains, hooked around his neck choking him.  
    
 A thousand hands around his throat, squeezing his windpipe… squeezing the life out of him.  
    
 “Ma…” Haruka wheezed. “-ko… to…”  
    
 Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes before they rolled along his temples, to the back of his head.  
    
  _Makoto…_ Haruka grabbed his throat and began squeezing. _Makoto!_  
    
 He opened his eyes.  
    
 A ray of light.  
    
 Haruka felt his strength return. He reached for it.  
    
 But it went past him.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened.  
    
 A thousand ray of lights bombarded through the darkness.  
    
 Cards whirled around him, glowing before everything faded to white.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 In a dark grey circular room, she stood. The only light was from stained glass windows halfway up the tower. Chigusa moved her hands to the side to open the vortex. The light poured out and soon a body fell into the space in front of her. “Nanase!”  
    
 Haruka fell at the centre of the room. He took big gulps of air as he put a hand to his heart, feeling the blood beat in his ears. He looked up and through his blurry vision he could tell who that figure was. He blinked several times before forcing himself to his feet. He pulled out both guns and squeezed them. “Terror Child… and Horror Fiend. A tale about the end of the world.” He aimed the gun at her. “It’s you, isn’t it?”  
    
 “No,” she murmured softly.  
    
 But he didn’t care.  
    
 His face hardened. He fired. The rip of gunshot was followed with an explosion. The dust cleared and Haruka’s eyes widened.  
    
 Makoto used a spell of light to push away the dust. His blade had taken the blunt of the hit, but scraps of his clothing on his right arm were torn. “Haru!”  
    
 Haruka inhaled sharply. “Makoto!” His heart leapt up to his throat. “You’re safe… you’re…”  
    
 “Yeah.” Makoto nodded. “I’m fine, but… what did you do? Haru!” He took a step forward. “You leapt into interdimensional space!”  
    
 “I tried to find you…” Haruka whispered. “I… That wasn’t what we meant to happen. Ritual must have gone awry.”  
    
 “No. The ritual was perfect, actually,” Chigusa corrected. “It was your destination that was crossed.”  
    
 Haruka frowned. “What?”  
    
 “Well, see.” Makoto scratched his cheek. “Interdimensional rifts, the land between existence, that’s the territory of psions. Your thoughts guide you. If you picture a space clear enough, theoretically you can appear then. So it means your thoughts were muddled. But it’s okay. You’re safe now.”  
    
 Haruka nodded. His hand brought up his gun again. “Makoto. Move aside.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Wait, Haru—listen to me!”  
    
 “I will, but move. She needs to be captured first.”  
    
 “Haru!”  
    
 “Move!”  
    
 “You…” Makoto looked away. “You don’t listen to me… you never listen to me.”  
    
 “This—”  
    
 “—Is what I have to do,” Makoto spoke for him. “Right?” When he got no reply, he knew he hit it spot on. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let The Eye have Chigusa, not yet. There are bigger things at risk right now. We can’t let them have her. If you care about Momo, or Nagisa, or Rin, or me or anyone, you’ll put that weapon down right now.”  
    
 “Tsk.” Haruka’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t… don’t talk to me like I’m a kid. Move.”  
    
 Chigusa huffed. “I told you, Makoto.” She took a step back. “He won’t listen to reason. His duty as Iris comes above all else.”  
    
 “I…” Makoto looked away. “I wanted…”  
    
 Haruka took a step forward. “You wanted?”  
    
 “It’s true, you know?” Makoto’s eyes softened. “She said there’s no point trying to talk to you, to explain it to you. But, but I wanted to prove her wrong… I thought, I honestly thought you could talk without aiming your gun at everything!”  
    
 “I’ll talk!” Haruka assured, “Once she’s in my custody.”  
    
 “Makoto,” Chigusa muttered. “He’s his parents’ child after all. You hated them so much you became them.”  
    
 Haruka’s grip on his gun faltered. “What?”  
    
 “Haru.” Makoto swallowed hard. “We need to talk. Put the weapon down.”  
    
 “We talk when she’s in my custody!” Haruka raised his voice. “And… I… I never hated my parents.”  
    
 Makoto sighed. “Okay.”  
    
 Haruka eyed him. “Okay?”  
    
 Chigusa crossed her arms. “You sure you can do this?”  
    
 Makoto nodded.  
    
 Chigusa took a step back.  
   
 Haruka took a step forward.  
    
 “Chi.” Makoto aimed his blade at Haruka. “Run.”  
    
 Chigusa dashed to the door.  
    
 Haruka chased, but he quickly turned heel, jumping back.  
    
 Makoto slammed his blade into the floor, shattering the tiles with pure force.  
    
 Haruka landed several steps away. “Makoto?”  
    
 “I’m sorry…” Makoto shook his head. “I’m sorry!”  
    
 “Get out of my way!” Haruka yelled. “I’m. I’m not fighting you… not you.”  
    
 “I hope that’s true, Haru. I don’t want to fight you either. It’s the last thing I want… I’ve been worried about you, worried sick! Twice, twice, you’ve collapsed recently, and now you’re throwing yourself into another fight? Do you… do you even want to take care of yourself?”  
    
 “My duty comes… first.” Haruka winced. “Move. For fuck’s sake, Makoto, move… please…”  
    
 “Not happening.” Makoto lifted his blade again and took his stance. “Words won’t convince me. They had their chance.”  
    
 “You don’t get it!” Haruka spat out, “The Terror Child is the witch born to destroy everything! If Chigusa is a witch who can use the power of an elementalist, support, shade, and psion! She has to be the Terror Child!”  
    
 “Chigusa and I had our chance to run.” Makoto looked up to the stained glass. Outside, a thunderbolt struck and the light flashed through the tower. “This distortion is going to fade soon… I begged Chigusa to stay, so we could talk. Who are you, Haru? You’re… not the person I used to know. Consumed by hate… what’s wrong with you?”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened. His hand moved to the right and he fired a warning shot.  
    
 It exploded against the walls behind Makoto, but Makoto didn’t react. “Your hands are shaking.”  
    
 Haruka looked at his hand and realised it was true; his whole body was shaking.  
    
 “You can’t exist without control. Problem is, you don’t have any control. You can barely control yourself. So how the hell am I supposed to tell you the truth—that you’ve never controlled anything in your life?”  
    
 “What are you…?” Haruka swallowed hard. “What did she tell you?”  
    
 “Haru… I’m sorry!” Makoto closed the distance between them, swinging his blade in a deep horizontal swing.  
    
 Haruka dodged it by jumping back. He knew Makoto’s fighting style too well. Beneath him rays of light were preparing to shoot skyward. He shifted to the right.  
    
 Makoto speared the light up then lowered his hand to make them rain down.  
    
 Haruka raised a hand and swirled it to create a pool of water above. He spun as it absorbed the attack. Reflexively, he brought his second hand forward and fired.  
    
 It hit Makoto head on.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened.  
    
 Makoto was thrown back against a wall. He winced, blood pouring from his forehead, smoke rising from his body.  
    
 Haruka gasped.  
    
 Makoto opened his eyes and charged. He swung diagonally this time.  
    
 Haruka fused the molecules in the air to create a sphere of water around him. A barrier of sorts. He swam towards the back of the barrier; knowing the length of Makoto blade (which he designed, after all), it would protect him.  
    
 Makoto sliced through the water, splashing some of it to the side.  
    
 “Stop it!” Haruka yelled through the water, voice become aquatic. “You’re scaring me…”  
    
 “I’m scaring you!?” Makoto sliced through the barrier again. “You shot me!”  
    
 “I didn’t mean to!”  
    
 “You expect me to believe that!?”  
    
 Haruka knew his barrier couldn’t take much more of this.  
    
 “You stupid!” Makoto swung. “Careless!” Another swing. “Self-centred!” A slash. “You leave me alone night,” he swung, “After night,” he swung, “Then you come back in the middle of the night—and you don’t even want to see my face!” He clicked the trigger of his blade and the teeth became a chainsaw. “I try so hard!” Water splashed everywhere through his next strikes. “I try so hard to be good for you! And you walk all over me! Heaven fucking forbid I ask you to put your Goddamn weapon down for one fucking minute!”  
    
 The next strike shattered the bubble of water, spraying the blue fluid everywhere.  
    
 Haruka froze, putting his hands over his head, expecting another attack.  
    
 The chainsaw of Makoto’s blade came to a halt as he put the weapon down. He slouched over, out of breath, tears in his eyes.  
    
 “I’m…” Haruka put his hands down. “Horrible… I know. You think… You think I don’t know? How fucking… _broken_ I am?” His breathing became rapid. “I can’t! I… I can’t feel anything half the time. I’m so… numb, all the time. All I feel is, is this rage. When I’m angry… when I’m focused, it’s the only time I feel _anything_ anymore!”  
    
 Makoto looked up, water dripping from his hair. There was no expression on his face, just neutrality.  
    
 Haruka swallowed hard, but nothing prepared him for the next question.  
    
 “Do you even love me?”  
    
 Haruka closed his eyes, cringing, looking away.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened.  
    
 “I…” Haruka dropped his guns, hearing them hit the floor. “I don’t know… I’m sorry.”  
    
 “You… don’t know?”  
    
 “I feel…” Haruka put a hand over his heart, feeling the soaked fabric of his councillor uniform. “I feel… better, when you’re there. Sometimes, invincible. When you’re with me, a part of is that… everything’s okay again. But… is that love? Or is… or do, do I just… depend on you?”  
    
 Makoto stared.  
    
 “I’m… the worst.”  
    
 “No.” Makoto shook his head. “It’s not your fault.”  
    
 “I’ve been like this, ever since they died. My parents.” Haruka looked down. “Slowly, it just felt like… I’m less and less of… a person. Every day that goes by… I just feel like a corpse. The small things that made me happy mean nothing now. This life is so… complicated. I don’t want it. But everyone depends on me. But you understand, don’t you? That Seijuro did this to me… if I kill him, will I feel again?”  
    
 “That’s not how it works.” Makoto shook his head. “And Seijuro didn’t do this to you. Seijuro didn’t kill your parents.”  
    
 Haruka looked up. “What?”  
    
 “The Terror Child, _Metus Filia._ ”  
    
 “She killed them?” Haruka’s eyes widened. “Chigusa is the Terror Child.”  
    
 “No.” Makoto shook his head. “She’s not the Terror Child.”  
    
 “How do you know?”  
    
 “I already know who the _Metus Filia_ is. We’ve already located him.”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened; energy returned to his body. His heart pumped boiling blood to his hands. “Who?” His hands summoned his guns back. “Tell me!” He pressed his handgun to Makoto’s throat. “Fucking tell me!”  
    
 “Haru…” Makoto looked at the gun against his throat.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened. The grip on his gun became loose. “What?”  
    
 “You don’t remember?”  
    
 Haruka took a step back.  
    
 Makoto looked him in the eye. “It was you.”  
    
 Haruka’s guns hit the floor again, but this time they dissolved on contact.  
    
 “You killed them.”  
    
 He took another step back, and he stood at the centre of the room. He opened his mouth, but nothing came. He felt a twist in his mind, a memory flashed through his eyes. Hands that weren’t real traced along his neck and the chains began to squeeze. He lowered his head, so his hair would hide his eyes. A purple darkness moved around him and his body became traced with lines.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened. “Haruka?”  
    
 Behind him runes aligned to create a gate. By the time Makoto realised what was going on, it was too late. A hand of white fire reached out and grabbed him. Its long nail, black and burning, moved under Haruka’s neck.  
    
 Makoto shrieked, “Haru!”  
    
 The hand yanked him in.  
    
 “Haru!” Makoto charged after him.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 At the shrine, reality bent and a distortion opened the path.  
    
 “Haru!” Makoto broke through and looked around. He saw Rin and Ai, Nagisa and Rei, Sousuke, but “Haru!” They all looked at him, but he looked left then right, desperately trying to find him. “Haru…” He knew the reality was that he wasn’t here, but that only made his desperation grow.  
    
 Lines of light formed together and Chigusa dropped down. “Makoto. Where’s Nanase?”  
    
 “We lost him…” Makoto shook his head. “The White Chrysalis got him! Shit!”  
    
 “Hey!” Rin walked up to them. “Slow down. What the fuck is goin’ on?”  
    
 “This shrine…” Chigusa’s eyes widened. “It’s the Hazuki shrine, Nyorai Mori… Of course! How could I be so dumb?” She put a hand to her forehead. “The rift to Kisumi has to be here!”  
    
 Nagisa’s eyes widened. “K-Kisumi?”  
    
 Rei gasped. “What?”  
    
 Nitori stared in disbelief. “Kisumi…”  
    
 Rei turned. “Where’s Momotarou?”  
    
 “We don’t have time for that,” Chigusa swiped her hand, cutting them off. “I have to open a distortion to the cathedral… but it won’t open without a Chrysalis.”  
    
 “I see.” Makoto nodded. “That’s why you wanted Haruka to open it for you.”  
    
 “Mm.” Chigusa nodded. “If Nanase led the way, we wouldn’t have to use Nagisa.”  
    
 “What?” Rei stepped forward.  
    
 Rin crossed his arms. “You going to fucking explain this or what?”  
    
 Chigusa slapped her hands together and they began to glow white. “I don’t have time!” She created a rune with motions of her hand. “I have to rip reality apart or Nanase and Kisumi will both die!”  
    
 “Rin!” Makoto yelled, “Trust her!”  
    
 “But!” Rin’s eyes narrowed.  
    
 “Trust her!”  
    
 Sousuke shook his head. “This is just…”  
    
 “I trust her,” Nagisa said in an out of place sing-song voice. “If Haru’s in danger, then we stick together and save him. That’s all there is to it. I don’t know if I trust you Chi-chan, but I trust Mako-chan and if he trusts you, then that’s good enough for Nagi-chan.”  
    
 Makoto sighed out of relief. “Thank you.”  
    
 “But…” Nitori winced.  
    
 Chigusa looked up. “How many am I transporting?”  
    
 “I’m in.” Rin scoffed. “Y’ain’t having Nagisa without me coming along.”  
    
 “Me too!” Nitori yelled.  
    
 “I’m in,” Sousuke affirmed.  
    
 Rei adjusted his glasses. “Very well; I shall also join you.”  
    
 Sousuke looked over his shoulder. “Hm…”  
   
 Nagisa glanced as well. “I’m sure Momo’s fine. Don’t worry.”  
    
 Sousuke nodded.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Momotarou stood at the stairs of the cathedral. When a beam of blue crashed to the island below, he knew it was time. He pulled the arrow from his provided quiver. They were aluminum arrows. He also preferred wooden arrows, but the minute he saw these ones… he knew what they were for. The arrowheads were flat and pointy. He pulled one out and set it along the bow. When it was against the string, the flathead was parallel to the ground.  
    
 It was designed to pierce the human rib with ease.  
    
 The arrows were for murder.  
    
 When the beam of blue faded and he could see the person, Momotarou paused. “H-Haru!?”  
    
 Haruka opened his eyes and looked up. His third eye was open, and all three of his eyes burned with black fires. He was leaking spirit essence, covered in a blue haze.  
    
 “Stay back!” Momotarou aimed his bow.  
    
 “Oy.”  
    
 Momotarou looked over his shoulder.  
    
 Seijuro had his massive axe leaning against his shoulder. “What’s that guy’s name again?”  
    
 “H-Haruka, Nanase.” Momotarou swallowed hard. “Are you going to make me fight him?”  
    
 Seijuro shook his head. “At this point, even my axe won’t be able to hurt him. His despair and his anger… it’s feeding the Chrysalis inside him. He’s pretty much invincible right now.”  
    
 Momotarou looked forward. “Haru? Chrysalis?”  
    
 Behind Haruka, mist of black and blue created creatures. Some were on four legs, black panthers and black hounds, while others were bipedal, with faces of seahorses and octopuses.  
    
 “Momo.” Seijuro brought his axe down. “You take care of the little ones, but leave Nanase to me. Chrysalis versus Chrysalis… that’s the only _real_ way to have this show down!”


	11. White of Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive responses last chapter Q.Q <3
> 
> * * *

_“Hah! That Nanase kid’s practically a zombie.”_  
  
 _“Does he ever talk?”_  
  
 _“What a loser.”_  
  
 _“Fucking geek.”_  
  
 _“Does anyone know if he can actually smile?”_  
  
 _“He does smile.”_  
  
 _“Yeah? He does?”_  
  
 _“When he talks to Makoto… you can practically see his face light up.”_  
  
 _Yes._  
  
 _That’s right._  
  
 _I smile when Makoto’s around._  
  
 _He’s the only thing that can fight the endless feeling of being alone…_  
  
 _Makoto…_  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 The path was a hallway of light. Makoto flew through the rays of existence. His only concern was saving Haruka. To the cathedral, they had to go. Chigusa led the way, keeping the distortion together as they moved. Nagisa was at his side, eyes focused on the blinding yellow in front of them. Rei and Ai were following suit, and then Rin. Sousuke took the rear, calling out when he saw someone drift too far to the side.  
   
 “How could I be so dumb?” Chigusa whispered, “Of course the shrine is where the distortion existed.”  
   
 Nagisa shook his head. “It’s okay, we’ll get there soon enough.”  
   
 “Ai!” Sousuke shouted.  
   
 Nitori began drifting to the side. He screamed and flailed, trying to ‘swim’ back to the centre.  
   
 “Oy!” Rin grabbed him and pulled him back. “Got you.”  
   
 “Thanks,” Nitori breathed.  
   
 Rin nodded. “We’re good!”  
   
 Nagisa nodded in return.  
   
 Rei’s eyes focused on his boyfriend, noting something… different.  
   
 Sousuke brought a hand to cover his eyes. “The light’s getting more dense…”  
   
 “Here,” Chigusa whispered.  
   
 Makoto pushed forward. “Here we go!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Beams of different colour rained down from the hollow sky. They landed halfway up the stairs which led up to the temple. It really was a cathedral. It lacked any religious symbol but it had all the grandiose arcs and spires. The steps descended endlessly until they reached the soft grassy groove on the bottom.  
   
 Makoto was the first to open his eyes. He saw the endless water around them and the auroras even further. When he looked down, his eyes widened. “Is that?”  
   
 Momotarou pulled out another arrow, pulled the string of his bow back, and fired.  
   
 It pierced the seahorse-like creature through the eyes and it fell over, bursting into flickers of flames.  
   
 A panther charged up the stairs, leaping for him.  
   
 Momotarou jumped back, and saw a blur rush past him.  
   
 Sousuke shattered it with one strike. “Momo!”  
   
 “Sousuke!” Momo looked behind him. “You’re all…” His eyes narrowed on Chigusa, but he shook his head. “Okay, I know it doesn’t make much sense, but we can’t let these things reach the cathedral! If we do, Kisumi will…”  
   
 “Kisumi…” Nagisa walked down the steps. “Where’s Haru-chan?”  
   
 Makoto pointed to the sky. “There.”  
   
 High up above, a serpent of white fire roared, spewing out colourless fire. It was as long as the horizon, looping thousands of times. It was as thick as the cathedral itself. Haruka, in the air, dodged the flame and whirled, aiming his gun and firing a shot.  
   
 “I am no sensory,” Rei lowered his voice, “But even I can tell their difference is clear. Nanase can’t win against that… thing.”  
   
 “Ai.” Rin looked at him. “If that’s a Chrysalis, that’s your department right?”  
   
 Nitori frowned. “Something’s… wrong.” He glanced at Chigusa. “You understand what I mean, don’t you, psion?”  
   
 “Yep.” Chigusa crossed her arms. “I don’t have time to explain. Rei, Matsuoka, Sousuke, stay here with Momotarou. Don’t let a single one of them pass. Momo’s right… if any of them reach the cathedral, it’s all over. Nagisa, Ai, Makoto – you guys come with me.”  
   
 Rin frowned. “Who the fuck says I’m following your orders?”  
   
 Makoto nodded. “Got it.”  
   
 “I’ll come,” said Nagisa.  
   
 “Hey!” Rin whined.  
   
 “Rin.” Nitori put a hand on his shoulder. “I think… I think I figured it out. Just, trust me, okay?”  
   
 Chigusa turned and ran up the stairs. Makoto, Nagisa, and Nitori all followed.  
   
 Black shadows formed together and a large figure phased into reality. It was a phantom squid, floating above the steps as it charged down at them.  
   
 Makoto sliced through it, but the beast tackled him.  
   
 Chigusa created a barrier.  
   
 Nitori blasted it with his mind.  
   
 Nagisa ran past the three of them and the beast, running up the stairs. “This cathedral…” Something in his mind was awakened. He knew its name. He didn’t know how, or why, but he did. The Chrysalis Cathedral. He made his way to the top and pushed open the double doors. “I’ll find my answers here!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 A man stood at the altar, at the crux of the temple. The temple had benches placed in rows, a red carpet moved to the altar where he stood. A necklace hung around his neck—a leather cord holding a bone over his chest. The bone was carved to resemble a feather, and in that feather was… He looked up, up to the glass above. He closed his eyes, swallowing hard, before opening it again. He whispered the name of one long time-lost: “Nagisa.”  
   
 Above, on the wall, where the sun would filter its light through were five stained glass paintings.  
   
 The double doors opened.  
   
 Nagisa initially ran down the aisle, but his footsteps slowed before they came to a halt. He looked up to the stained glass, all five revealed, and he had a feeling he was seeing something he wasn’t supposed to see. He saw himself, bathed in black fires. Haruka, with chains around his neck. Nitori, with tears running down his cheek. Rin, with his entire eyeballs painted black. Seijuro, bathed in white fires. “What?”  
   
 The man at the end looked over his shoulder.  
   
 Nagisa’s eyes widened.  
   
 He grabbed the necklace and then turned to face him.  
   
 “Grandpa…” Nagisa frowned. “You’re… so young…”  
   
 Kisumi raised his hand. A bolt of lightning slammed into his palm with a flash and he whipped his hand forward. “Imprison!”  
   
 Nagisa’s eyes widened. Rings appeared around him before jolting him with purple lightning. Nagisa screamed, his cry echoing endlessly in the cathedral.  
   
 “You can’t fool me…” Kisumi raised his hand, lifting Nagisa off the ground. With a crunch of his fist, the lightning burned louder. “Just… disappear.”  
   
 Cards whirled around Nagisa before they snapped open, shattering Kisumi’s spell. Nagisa fell and Makoto barely caught him in time. Nitori felt a rift in consciousness as Chigusa walked down the aisle.  
   
 “Chi,” Kisumi whispered.  
   
 “Nagisa isn’t dead,” she declared. “After faking his own death, his Chrysalis went into hiding. It remerged in Nazuoka four months ago, but was sealed away.”  
   
 “Sealed away…” Kisumi raised his chin. “But the Sorrow Gale…”  
   
 “Is sealed.” Chigusa stepped aside. “By Aiichiro Nitori.”  
   
 Kisumi looked at the grey haired boy and his eyes widened. “Ai… little Ai, is that you?”  
   
 “Kisumi!” Nitori felt a mix of horror and excitement. “But… how?”  
   
 “Nagisa.” He looked to the blond cradled in Makoto’s arm. “Our Nagisa.”  
   
 “Kis’!” Chigusa yelled, “Call Seijuro off! Now!”  
   
 “I can’t! I’m… utterly powerless.”  
   
 Makoto looked up. “You can’t do anything? Anything at all?”  
   
 “Seijuro barely held it together all these years, but I failed as his keeper… I’m sorry.”  
   
 “No.” Makoto shook his head. “You’re the zombie keeping this distortion together. You’ve done what you can. We’ll do the rest.”  
   
 Kisumi shook his head. “This distortion will fall.”  
   
 Nitori put his hands together. “Why?”  
   
 Outside, a roar of a Chrysalis was followed by several explosions. The earth beneath the temple shook violently and the chandeliers began to swing left and right. Kisumi eyed them before looking down again. “The Terror Child seeks to reclaim what was once his, the White Chrysalis. Now that Nagisa is also here…”  
   
 “I…” Nagisa opened his eyes. “I want to… merge.”  
   
 Makoto blinked and looked down. “What?”  
   
 Nitori blinked. “Nagi?”  
   
 “I have this urge…” Nagisa put a hand against his heart. “I want the White Chrysalis… inside me. I…” He stood up slowly and shook his head. “Why? Why do I feel this way?” He swayed from side to side… He looked up to the stained glass paintings.  
   
 “Rin and Ai,” Makoto whispered in disbelief. “They’ve been added.”  
   
 Nitori blinked. “What? Why?”  
   
 “It’s an old tale,” Chigusa explained. “One we don’t have time to get into. The Terror Child, Horror Fiend, Fool, Saviour, and the End.” The temple shook once more. “Could it be because of Nazuoka? Were you the ones who set the present on the path to this future, by bringing Nagisa and the Sorrow Gale back to the realm of the living?”  
   
 “Merge…” Nagisa closed his eyes. Black fires began to swirl around him. “I want to…” His eyes began to burn. “Merge.” He breathed hard. “Merge!”  
   
 Makoto put a hand on his shoulder. “Nagisa! Nagisa!”  
   
 With a flair of black flames, Nagisa’s hand became a claw that grabbed Makoto’s throat. Makoto choked and grabbed the claw, but the fires along his skin burned.  
   
 Nitori erupted a blast wave through his mind.  
   
 Nagisa tossed Makoto at him, using the witch as his shield. “Why am I…? Hurting you?” Closing his eyes, he turned around and ran outside. “Merge!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka whirled through the air, tossing a grenade at the creature. It exploded against the serpent, but it did nothing to stop him. Haruka dodged the snap of its jaw and fired from his handguns. His spirit essence was corrupt and leaking with hatred. They infused his guns, forming black bullets that exploded a murky blue. There were times he used to merge the spirit essence of others—Nagisa, Rin, Sousuke, Nitori, Makoto—but not anymore. He was more powerful than ever. He didn’t need anyone anymore.  
   
 He would never need another person again.  
   
 The Chrysalis roared.  
   
 Haruka whirled through the air, landing on his forehead. He opened his cloak and a grenade that glowed bright blue dropped on its head. Haruka back flipped off and heard the explosion, followed by the scream of the monster. He followed it up with several bullets, each one blowing up against the glowing white creature.  
   
 The Chrysalis suddenly paused.  
   
 Haruka’s eyes narrowed.  
   
 The Chrysalis dove down, past Haruka.  
   
 Haruka turned around, cloak fluttering in the wind. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going!?”  
   
 He would have his revenge.  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Nagisa charged down the steps. Several of the beasts ran towards him but he sliced through them, breaking them all, tearing their existence apart. He heard screaming, but none of it mattered. A beast almost got him, but an arrow from someone else made quick work of it. A growl burned in the back of his throat as he sliced four of the humanoids in one strike. He created a blast of fire to take out a couple panthers. He cringed, going in the fetal position, before he roared—throwing his head up and his hands to the side. He was calling the other Chrysalis to him.  
   
 He would merge. He would merge. He would merge.  
   
 Grinning, he tore through another.  
   
 “Nagisa!” Rei yelled.  
   
 “Feed! I feed!”  
   
 Rei ran up the steps. “Nagisa!”  
   
 Nagisa paused, looking at him.  
   
 Rin looked up as well. “Chrysalis!”  
   
 Sousuke’s eyes narrowed. “Nagisa…”  
   
 “I feel…” Nagisa put his disfigured hand to his heart. “A door… inside me. It’s sealed.”  
   
 “Don’t!” Rin yelled, “Don’t touch it!”  
   
 The White Chrysalis roared, getting closer.  
   
 “But…” Nagisa looked at them. “I have to merge… I have to!” He paused. He looked to the side.  
   
 The White Chrysalis opened its mouth, about to eat the entire segment of stairs Nagisa was standing on.  
   
 Nagisa was only a millimetre away from its tongue, teeth above and below him. “Oh.” Nagisa looked up, seeing strings and strands of saliva. “Shit.”


	12. Necessary of Sacrifice

_“Our home,” Makoto says in disbelief. “Our own home.”  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka nods, staring. “Weird.”  
   
 “What is?”  
   
 “Well…” Haruka shook his head. “Nevermind.”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “You could at least pretend to be excited about it.”  
   
 “I am.”  
   
 “Convincing.”  
   
 Haruka eyed him for a moment. “I am, excited. I just…”  
   
 “I know.” Makoto nipped Haruka’s cheek with two fingers. “You just don’t show it as much as I do, but I know you are.”  
   
 Haruka looked away; it was a vain attempt to hide his smile._  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “Nagisa!” Momotarou ran down the stairs.  
   
 The White Chrysalis opened its jaw, ready to chomp down on the blond.  
   
 “Oh.” Nagisa stared, eyes wide. “Shit.”  
   
 Momotarou slammed Nagisa with his whole body, throwing the blond down the stairs.  
   
 “Mo—” Nagisa looked back, gasping.  
   
 The jaws of the Chrysalis snapped shut. The serpent heaved upwards spiraling up into the sky as it swallowed Momotarou. Nagisa toppled down the steps until Rei grabbed him. The black fires disappeared. There was a hole in the stairs. Haruka followed the serpent, explosions making contact with the white flesh. Nagisa stared in disbelief. “What… did I…?” His pink eyes widened. “Momo! What did I do? Rei-chan… what did I-?”  
   
 Rei’s eyes were wide; no words could leave his throat.  
   
 Rin grabbed a vial of spores from his pocket and flicked off the top. “Oy!” He threw the spores in the air then threw a heavy fireball at it with his freehand. It burned in a rippling explosion; and, from that explosions, hands formed on either side and pushed out, forming forearms, elbows, and shoulders of fire. From a swirling red cloud, an infernal jinnī rose and spewed flame out of its mouth. “Focus!” Rin yelled as looked over his shoulder. “If we work together, we might be able to save him! I don’t know how—but we’ll do it, damnit!”  
   
 Sousuke nodded. “That’s right!” The runes on his blade changed and he pierced the ground, getting on one knee. Winds of black and blue whirled around him. He raised his hand and a cry chilled the air around them. A Banshee – a tormented woman of the dead – cried out before clawing one of the beasts. Sousuke nodded a second time. “We’ll get him back!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Gou sat alone in her room. She poured a cup of tea for herself. She used a smaller teapot, one that only made about a cup or two of tea. It was tea for one. She was on lockdown, after all. She chose to go with her blend of Persian tea. Sousuke had bought it for her a month ago. He travelled to Iran for a distortion and, knowing how much she loved the taste of other cultures, he decided to buy something for her – though he wouldn’t say how much he paid for it. From the deep ruby rose colour of the tea, Gou knew it had to be expensive.  
   
 It was fragrant and _strong_.  
   
 Apparently (from what Rin and Sousuke told her, and they probably weren’t the most credible source so she was apprehensive), in Iran they made their tea very strong and usually dropped a sugar cube in it. Being raised on Japanese milk teas, though, Gou added some milk to hers to ward off the harshness, and also to bring a creaminess to her beverage.  
   
 The specific blend she had mixed rosewater and cardamom.  
   
 The smell was divine.  
   
 She grabbed her glass teacup (and always glass Nagisa had told her, after looking on Google to pretend he was well cultured, so they could see the pretty colour “Or something I dunno don’t look at me Gou-chan!”).  
   
 “Kou,” she corrected her mental image of Nagisa.  
   
 She brought the glass to her lips, but right before she tasted it.  
   
 The room turned red.  
   
 Gou looked up.  
   
 A piercing shrill buzzed through the room (and from the faint echo in the hall Gou assumed it buzzed the entire floor). “What?” She put the cup down and stood up. The lights began flashing orange in time with the warning alarm. “What’s going on?”  
   
 The television in her room turned on.  
   
 A man with dark skin, most likely Egyptian, saluted the camera. “This is Commander Srour of The Eye’s Central Defense Force. We are initiating a full lockdown on the central nerve, I repeat: We are initiating a full lockdown on the central nerve. Portals are opening up and some kind of spirit monsters are pouring out—do not engage. I repeat: Do not engage! All video outputs will soon display the location of your nearest emergency exit as well as the portals, avoid them and evacuate.”  
   
 Gou’s eyes widened. “What?” The side of the screen began displaying the floors of nearest to her and Gou ran over. Luckily there were none on her floor.  
   
 “Please allow our experts to eliminate these monsters. All exit pathways are guarded by witches who will help you reach safety. For those with physical disabilities there are transport witches on every floor. Please make your way to them. One more time: We are initiating a full lockdown, avoid the portals and the creatures, do not engage, and follow the maps to the nearest exit routes.”  
   
 His face disappeared and more maps appeared.  
   
 Gou memorised the path then ran to the door. She tried to open it but… “Shit.” She was on lockdown as well. She relaxed, though. “I’m safe here, at least.”  
   
 Someone screamed outside.  
   
 Gou opened her eyes, putting her hand on the door. She couldn’t do anything to help them. Something that sounded like a ray of light and a scream followed, then she could hear ‘thank yous’. Gou relaxed. She slammed her hand on the door. “Hey! Can you help me out, here?”  
   
 No response.  
   
 They couldn’t hear her.  
   
 Gou shook her head and sat in front of her teapot. “I’m safe… I’ll be okay.” She looked up and her heart stopped.  
   
 Black energy whirled and a person stepped out. No, it wasn’t quite a person. Though he stood at twice her height, his face was that of an octopus. In his hand was a spear. His eyes were glowing blue.  
   
 Gou stood up. As a psion she knew… that thing had no consciousness. It wasn’t alive.  
   
 It was death itself.  
   
 It swung its spear.  
   
 Gou screamed and jumped back, back against the wall. She turned and slammed her hand. “Let me out!” She cringed. “Let me out of here!”  
   
 The thing stepped closer.  
   
 Gou turned and her eyes went wide. “I can fight…” She focused her energy into her third eye and blasted outward.  
   
 The thing was pushed back, but no real damage was done.  
   
 Gou slumped down to the floor. “No…” She closed her eyes, grabbing her head. “No please, someone…”  
   
 The monster lifted its spear and aimed it towards her.  
   
 “Save me…” Gou’s body began to glow a pink-red. “Rin!”  
   
 The spear crashed down and red blasted outwards.  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “I…” Makoto’s eyes widened. “I don’t, I can’t I… I don’t know if I can do this. I just…”  
   
 Chigusa’s hands turned to fist. “Don’t back out now. This is what we’ve come all this way for, Makoto! You’re the only one.”  
   
 “But Haru and I…” Makoto looked away. The cathedral shook with another explosion. “We’re not, we’re not real… Our feelings for each other… they’re not ‘love’ or whatever. He doesn’t love me.”  
   
 “Wow you’re… so dumb,” Nitori muttered (Rin must have been rubbing off on him). “Makoto, what are you talking about? You’re so… There’s no other word for it, you’re just… dumb. I’ve never doubted the way you look at each other. I feel it.” He put his hand on his heart. “The emotional shift, when you look at each other. I feel it.”  
   
 “But…”  
   
 Kisumi sighed. “Chigusa.”  
   
 “Mm.” Chigusa nodded. “Very well. If you don’t think you can do this, then we have to send another. Are you okay with that?”  
   
 Makoto gasped. “No!”  
   
 Chigusa smiled. “So you believe it?”  
   
 “No… I just, I really think he’s just with me because he doesn’t know what else to do, who else to be with. Maybe he’s just been with me so long he doesn’t realise he would be happier without me… maybe I’m with him just because we’ve been together so long. Do we really care for each other? As friends, yes, maybe. But as… you know? But, at the same time, if Haru’s like verges on this one move, and if we can really only send one person… I don’t know, if… I… I wouldn’t be able to live with the choice that it wasn’t me. And if someone else can really save Haru, then it’ll be proof that we wasted all this time with each other.”  
   
 Kisumi looked at Chigusa and she met his gaze with one of a solemn look.  
   
 “The logical part of me says I’m selfish,” Makoto went on, “And that, maybe this is a dumb reason, but the way I feel so strongly about this, so irrational about this whole thing… I wonder if it’s because, even if I don’t understand my feelings, and if I don’t know how Haru feels for me, maybe he does, maybe I do? I… don’t know if I make sense. But I’m running in circles! I’ll…” Makoto looked up. “I’ll do it.”  
   
 “Good.” Nitori smiled. “It has to be you; I don’t think anyone else would go.”  
   
 Makoto nodded.  
   
 “Then I will explain the process and why.” Chigusa crossed her arms. “Kisumi, support the defense but don’t engage. If you die, this distortion is done for.”  
   
 “Hm.” Kisumi playfully smiled. “Our first reunion in years and it takes ten minutes for you to order around your elders.”  
   
 “As if a few years mean much, old man.” Chigusa returned the smile. “Go. Your grandchildren are here.”  
   
 “Wait.” Kisumi paused. “Grand… Plural?”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Rin’s eyes widened. “Gou?”  
   
 With a shockwave of ruby light, Gou fluttered down onto the steps. Her eyes opened and she gasped, clutching her chest.  
   
 “Gou!” Rin yelled. “What the hell are you doing here?”  
   
 “I… displaced.” Gou’s eyes widened when she looked down the steps, past her brother. “More of those monsters…”  
   
 Nagisa whirled in the air, beheading a seahorse cleanly. He landed on the other side and stabbed another beast in the heart. His rapier was forged of wind, by Rei; although Nagisa couldn’t use his spirit essence offensively, he still fought with a weapon. He danced with his blade, slicing off a leg of an octopus man, causing him to fall, and then striking skyward – slashing open the octopus’ head. He glanced up the stairs. “Gou?”  
   
 “The Eye…” Gou swallowed hard. “It’s under attack by these things!”  
   
 Sousuke paused for half a second before he sliced through another. “The central nerve?”  
   
 Rei swung his weapon, releasing an arc of wind to slash one open. “What are these things, even?”  
   
 A flash of pink light and sakura petals cause Kisumi to appear. “They are a manifestation of Haruka’s rage.”  
   
 Nagisa looked over his shoulder.  
   
 Rei gasped. “It can’t be…”  
   
 Kisumi blinked. “Rei? Is that you? You’ve all…” He shook his head. “Sentiments later. Haruka’s rage overflows, it breaks the barriers beyond mind and matter – it gives physication to raw emotions that beg the question: Chrysalises.”  
   
 “But.” Rin eyed the new guy. “How the fuck is he doing that?”  
   
 Gou turned around. “Where are we?”  
   
 “The Chrysalis Cathedral,” Kisumi muttered, eyes falling on Nagisa and he pointed at him. “Your birthright as the successor of the Hazukis, the clan entrusted with the Black Chrysalis.” He pointed his finger down and a pink spear formed in his hand. “I should have never let Seijuro leave this place. It’s true… the Black Chrysalis lies dormant inside you. I feel the labyrinth of the ancients inside you. The Sorrow Gale. The doors inside your core that I built myself.”  
   
 “Wait.” Rin glared at him. “You built the Sorrow Gale?”  
   
 “I don’t have time to explain things that are not essential right now. In short, I mistook your Chrysalis’ re-sealing as your death. Sending Seijuro into reality would mean he would have wanted to merge with you, as that was the only way he could erase _his – Nanase’s_ – suffering.”  
   
 “Stupid old man!” Nagisa glared upwards. “None of your stupid words are making sense, damnit!”  
   
 “Haruka’s rage…” Gou looked at the monsters which seemed to be holding back by Kisumi’s presence. “But Seijuro Mikoshiba, Haru, these things crawling out of the portal… they all feel the same.”  
   
 “You’re pretty perceptive for a psion your age,” Kisumi said with a smile, something warm in his voice, creeping like a monster under the ocean’s surface. “Haruka is lost in his anger. His anger feeds Seijuro. Seijuro feeds on the anger and now he battles the Terror Child. The two are locked in a vicious cycle that will spawn infinite hatred and an infinite amount of Chrysalises until the sky falls on our heads.”  
   
 “How charming,” Rei hissed. “But we have given Chigusa Hanamura enough time. What is she doing with Makoto and Aiichiro?”  
   
 “She is preparing a Neurotic Dive. Aiichiro Nitori will use his power as a psion to send Makoto Tachibana into Nanase’s mind. The barriers between mind and matter are weak in this distortion. That is our only chance to stop the overwhelming rage which is at the core of this problem. Until then… we fight to protect the temple, and to protect them.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “But I don’t understand!” Nitori yelled, “Rei said he saw Sei kill Chiyo Hazuki with his own eyes. He wouldn’t lie about that—so how can you say Haruka was the one who killed her? I know that’s not a trick of psions. This can’t be! Haruka Nanase can’t be the White Chrysalis; as we speak, Seijuro’s rampage _as_ that Chrysalis!”  
   
 “Ai,” Makoto whispered. “Calm down. Please. She can explain.”  
   
 Chigusa nodded. “Aiichiro Nitori… listen carefully and think: If a man is killed by another man wielding a kitchen knife, is the knife to blame?”  
   
 “What? No.” Nitori shook his head. “A knife can’t be blamed, it has no control. And unlike a gun, a kitchen knife has other purposes.”  
   
 “The knife in this metaphor is Seijuro. Seijuro is a weapon that Nanase wields. Nanase’s parents died because their child wanted them to. His desire, his anger, his rage boils in Seijuro’s veins… Seijuro will kill on Haruka’s behalf, at his wishes.”  
   
 “But, Makoto.” Nitori turned to him. “Rin’s memories… when he showed them, well, they said Haru’s parents died when he was a kid. What happened that would make Haru want to kill his own parents?”  
   
 “Can’t say.” Makoto shook his head. “But Haruka is a Chrysalis… I don’t know what his parents did to warrant such a desire, but… I don’t know. Haru also killed Rin’s parents.”  
   
 Nitori turned to Chigusa and stepped forward. “Who are you? No more games.”  
   
 “I…” Chigusa looked away. “Am the one who performed the awful deed of transferring the Chrysalis out of Haruka’s body, and into Seijuro’s.”  
   
 “But.” Nitori’s eyes watered. “Why Seijuro? He was always a gentle soul…”  
   
 “Seijuro did it to protect Nagisa. Haruka was just, a child.” She put her hands together. “He couldn’t control his emotions the way an adult could.” She closed her eyes. “I bear the sins of Seijuro’s crimes on my soul, and for my actions… I paid the price for it already with my life.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “She’s…” Gou stared in disbelief. “She’s going to send Makoto into Haru’s mind? Is that even possible?”  
   
 “Yes.” Kisumi nodded. “But it has to be someone Haruka will accept. Chigusa has seen the terrors of his mind once before, years ago, and she has no doubt that it has gotten worse.”  
   
 Nagisa’s eyes widened. “She’s seen into his mind before?”  
   
 “How?” Rin asked.  
   
 “So…” Rei realised. “It’s her, isn’t it? I remember the first time I saw Haruka Nanase… I was only a child, the day she died. When I saw the picture of Haru being appointed as the High Councillor of Asia, I… I couldn’t believe it. I saw him in the shrine, and a bright light was pulled from his body. I didn’t know what was going on – but I knew I saw something you didn’t want to see. You and her.”  
   
 “Chigusa Hanamura,” Gou whispered.  
   
 Rin stared at the cathedral. “Chiyo Hazuki.”  
   
 “Yes.” Kisumi eyed him. “And we—”  
   
 An explosion louder than the others cut him off. The Chrysalis was thrown into the ocean, causing waves taller than buildings to crash against the island. The Chrysalis rose up again and unleashed a psychic scream.  
   
 “What?” Kisumi looked down at the waters, noticing it was spinning like a whirlpool. “With Nanase and Seijuro, Seijuro should be winning… at most a stalemate but this…”  
   
 “It’s just like Nagisa.” Rin thought back. “On our first fight with Nagisa’s Chrysalis, Haruka used bullets of Nagisa’s spirit essence against him. They were, really something… If you think about, every one of Haruka’s attacks are like those bullets.”  
   
 “But…” Rei noticed a line through the wind. “This distortion… It’s coming apart.”  
   
 “Rin!” Sousuke yelled before running off the platform. “Pheonix!” He jumped. “Now!”  
   
 “Coming right up!” Rin grabbed his tattoo on his shoulder and ripped it out with fire.  
   
 Sousuke dove downwards to the ocean below. Hearing a caw, he flattened his body, increasing wind resistance. He did a flip and landed on the fiery bird. “Atta boy.” He patted it twice and then grabbed the reins. “Haru, just hold on.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Haruka leapt above the beast. He grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around him. He whirled once, twice, then opened his cloak, tossing two dozen grenades. The grenades clung to the scales of the dragon and Haruka dove downwards, dodging a snap of its jaws. He heard the explosion and glanced back up. Scales ripped off and black blood splattered out. It wasn’t the core, but it was exposure. He formed a sphere of dark water in his hand and fired.  
   
 The Chrysalis screamed.  
   
 Haruka continued to let himself fall. He put his hands together and runes began to whirl around him. Just like the last Chrysalis, he would be lent the power of a divine to finish the job. He flipped midair and paused in the sky. Symbols and runes formed intricate patterns. His spirit essence, now black, leaked out of his eyes and the pores of his skin.  
   
  _‘I call you forth…’_  
   
 “Haruka!”  
   
 Haruka lifted his head before glancing to the side.  
   
 “Haru.” Sousuke brought the phoenix close. “Stop!”  
   
 Haruka growled. “No.”  
   
 “These symbols…” Sousuke shook his head. “You can’t. Poseidon is too strong for one person to call forth alone. Even you!”  
   
 “I don’t care,” Haruka muttered. “Even if it kills me – I’ll kill him.”  
   
 “Enough, Haru! Get a grip on reality!”  
   
 “Tsk.”  
   
 “There’s a chance Momo’s alive and in there, damnit, Haru, you can’t!”  
   
 “Momo?” Haruka cocked his head. “Necessary sacrifice.”  
   
 The symbols and sigils and runes began to glow a dark neon blue.  
   
 Sousuke grabbed Haruka’s arm. “Haru!”  
   
 Haruka put his gun against Sousuke’s throat. “You’ll also be a necessary sacrifice if you get in my way.”  
   
 “Haru, please…” Sousuke’s eyes widened. He was about to say something else, but he paused. There was energy coming towards them. Haruka noticed it as well; his eyes softened before he whispered, “Makoto?”  
   
 A beam of light pierced Haruka’s chest, spraying blood, going right through and shattering the symbol behind him like glass, into a thousand shards. The broken symbols dropped into the water, which mixed with the Chrysalis’ blood. Haruka began to fall backwards.  
   
 “Haru!” Sousuke reached for him.  
   
 Haruka let go of his gun and tried to take Sousuke’s hand, but it was too late. Gravity won. He fell to the water below.  
   
 “Haruka!” Sousuke yelled. “Go!” He ordered the phoenix, but it refused. It began flying the other way. “What are you-?”  
   
 With Haruka gone, the Chrysalis began chasing him.  
   
 “Fly bird, fly!” Sousuke yelled. He looked down to the water. Once a bright shimmering blue, it was now a murky black. He glanced to the Chrysalis Cathedral to see Makoto standing at the entrance. Though he was out of earshot, Sousuke had to ask: “Why would you?”  
   
 A thunderbolt struck the water’s surface.  
   
 Sousuke looked down again.  
   
 The water spun in a violent whirlpool, blue lightning swirling around the eye of the storm.  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Deep at the bottom of the ocean, Haruka had his hand over his chest. His blood came out in a dark red fog in the black waters. His tears were bright white but whatever light they held was devoured by the terror his body was being swallowed by. He was falling head first at a steady rate. He began to curl in the fetal position.  
   
  _Why?_  
   
 His blood began to boil, bubbling in his veins.  
   
 His rage grew.  
   
 His eyes widened and his skin began to crack.  
   
  _Why is it everything I do…?_


	13. Hatred of Cognition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH. Sorry, I know it's after midnight (for me anyway) so I am technically late but better late than never, right? Sorry I haven't been able to get to last chapter's comments (and I'm going to bed now so probably this chapter too), but I hope that doesn't discourage anyone from leaving more. <3
> 
> Your reactions feed me. <3
> 
> * * *

 “Haruka’s cognitive perception of his own emotions are skewered.”  
    
 Nitori stared at Chigusa. “Sensei, what do you mean by cognitive perception?”  
    
 “Imagine two things: A lion, and a tiger. You don’t need to see them physically to ‘see’ them in your head. You have mental images, mental representations of both. They’re different. Why are a lion and a tiger different? Because there are differences, details that you can tell them apart. A tiger might have stripes, male lions have manes. So on and so forth. The tiger and lion in this metaphor are Seijuro’s and Haruka’s emotions. For Seijuro, there are no differences in details. They are one in the same. When Haruka Nanase is happy, Seijuro Mikoshiba is happy. When Haruka is sad, Seijuro is sad. When Haruka is unstable…”  
    
 The Chrysalis outside roared.  
    
 “And for Haru…” Nitori put his hands together. “It is the opposite, isn’t it? There are too many details, details that shouldn’t be there. To the point where, where Haru doesn’t even know if he’s happy. To the point where Haruka could be utterly in love with someone but he doesn’t even know about it, right?”  
    
 “If,” Makoto added. “If he’s in love.”  
    
 Nitori turned to look at him but paused. His blue eyes looked up to see a thin film of mist in the air.  
    
 Black and blue.  
    
 “This energy…” Chigusa’s eyes widened. “Nanase is…”  
    
 “He’s calling a witch forth,” Makoto realised. “But the strain of such a call in this distortion, in his current state…”  
    
 Chigusa shook her head. “It will break what’s left of his mind!”  
    
 Nitori gasped. “Makoto, stop him!”  
    
 Makoto turned and ran. He ran out of the cathedral and convulsed all his spirit energy into his hand. “I’m sorry,” he yelled, even if he knew Haruka couldn’t hear him. “I’m sorry…” He looked up to see Haruka in the sky, rings and runes whirling around him. Sousuke was riding Rin’s phoenix, but Haruka’s gun was against Sousuke’s throat. “I’m sorry.” Makoto raised his hand and fired a beam. “I’m sorry!”  
    
 The beam blasted through Haruka and shattered the summoning runes behind him.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened. “What did I just…?”  
    
 A thunderbolt crashed against the water. The water darkened, turning black and murky; it whirled in a whirlpool, like chains swirling around someone’s throat.  
    
 Makoto turned around and ran back into the cathedral.  
    
 “Ai,” Chigusa raised her voice. “Now! Do it!”  
    
 Nitori’s eyes widened. “What?”  
    
 “Nanase’s mind is deteriorating as we speak. If we don’t do it now…”  
    
  “But,” Makoto said—  
    
 “—Now!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 One of the creatures brought a spear down on him, but Nagisa dodged. He hopped on the spear and ran along the length. With a twist of his wrist and a swing of his arm, he sliced the head off a creature. They had divided the work. He and Rei stood by the portals, slicing through as many as they could; anything that made it past them was taken down by Rin and Sousuke who stood closer to the cathedral.  
    
 Nagisa, however, was determined to let none pass.  
    
 These things, they were Chrysalises. Unlike the big ones, they didn’t seem to go through a necrotic blast, but that begged the question: Just what was a Chrysalis? Nagisa sliced through a panther and then whirled, tearing his blade through another beast. He counted thirty-four. Thirty-four he’d taken down. That was thirty-four less that Rin had to deal with; thirty-four less that would put Sousuke in danger. For too long, too long without his magic Nagisa had been useless.  
    
 Not anymore.  
    
 He decapitated another one.  
    
 Thirty-five.  
    
 He dodged the lunge of a wolf and stabbed it through the side.  
    
 Thirty-six.  
    
 One of the seahorse-headed things charged at him.  
    
 Rei swung his rapier, ejecting an arc of wind through it. “The rate at which these things are appearing is increasing, Nagisa.”  
    
 “Yeah!” Nagisa nodded, backing away from one. “I’ve noticed that too… It’s getting worse. This… it won’t end anytime soon. Rei, we’ve gotta conserve our energy!”  
    
 Rei’s eyes widened. “Agreed!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 More and more of the beasts made it past Nagisa and Rei, but of the few that did none would pass Rin or Sousuke. The Efreet and the Banshee both had the ability to fly, giving them superior maneuverability, coupled with their speed made a devastating combo. Some of the beasts charged their way to the top, others aimed for the witches.  
    
 One managed to throw Rin down, raising its weapon high above.  
    
 A pink spear pierced its neck, causing it to disappear.  
    
 “Kisumi!” Chigusa yelled, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”  
    
 Kisumi summoned four more spears and shot them down at the monsters. “I don’t have the luxury to sit here and silly saddle. I have to fight too!”  
    
 Chigusa unleashed a blast of lightning at a panther. “Hell no! If you die, this distortion will also be erased from existence!”  
    
 Sousuke sliced through a beast before sending his Banshee at another. “And I’m guessing everyone inside the distortion will be erased with it?”  
    
 “More than that.” Rin got up. “All products of a distortion also get erased.”  
    
 Gou, standing at a safe distance, gasped. “Then Nagisa-!”  
    
 “Yeah.” Rin nodded. “I am _not_ losing him again. I’m not fucking losing anyone today. No matter what.”  
    
 “Kisumi,” Chigusa spoke softly. “If you want something to do, guard Ai. He’s setting up the Dive as we speak.”  
    
 “Dive,” Gou whispered. “But, how?”  
    
 Chigusa looked at Gou and for a moment they both remembered the friendship they had, before everything became… complicated. “We are Psions.” Chigusa held up a card. “Our abilities are lawful and our role is to manipulate the change between energy and mass—to facilitate the elements of matter with our minds.” She swung her card and a blast of fire took out another beast. “Aiichiro will dissolve Makoto into spirit essence, and infuse him into Haruka’s consciousness.”  
    
 Rin sent his Efreet forward before turning around. “That’s fucking crazy!”  
    
 Sousuke turned as well. “It doesn’t particularly sound safe, Hanamura.”  
    
 Chigusa looked down at them. “And what other choice do we have?”  
    
 Neither of them could reply.  
    
 Kisumi looked up to the Chrysalis. “Strange. It isn’t attacking the cathedral, even with the _Metus Filia_ gone… I sense, I believe I sense something else. Someone else. Inside the beast.”  
    
 “Momo,” Rin muttered.  
    
 Kisumi’s eyes widened and he looked down. “Momotarou, Mikoshiba? Impossible.” He shook his head. “The spirit essence of this witch is too strong.”  
    
 “Oy.” Sousuke glared. “Don’t underestimate him. Momo packs a hell of a lot of punch for a little guy.”  
    
 Chigusa put a hand to her chin. “He hasn’t been dissolved?”  
    
 “Theoretically speaking.” Kisumi looked up. “Maybe there is some semblance of Seijuro left in that beast…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Haruka’s cheeks split to form gills. He breathed roughly as he grabbed his chest. A red-white haze surrounded his black-blue spirit essence and a growl began to bubble in the back of his throat. “Why?” he asked, “Why is it everything I do…?” His eyes widened and he began to see through eyes that were his but not his.  
    
    
 Inside the Chrysalis… it was a circular space, bright red, with orange and white lights flying around. Two people stood on the glass surface, moving, locked in combat.  
    
 Seijuro charged and swung.  
    
 Momotarou jumped back and landed on a barrier. He used it to toss himself back. Back flipping through the air, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and tugged it along the string of the bow. Before he even landed, he fired the metal arrow.  
    
 Seijuro whirled his axe and the metal shattered against the blur of his weapon.  
    
 Momotarou landed and gasped. “That’s… so not fair!” He pulled his next arrow, but he froze. It was his last arrow. He pulled it and swallowed hard. “Sei… I know you’re still in there!”  
    
 Seijuro glared at him, anger spilling endlessly. “I…”  
    
    
 At the bottom of the blue ocean Haruka growled, “Will destroy…”  
    
    
 In the red room, Seijuro growled the same growl, “Everything! If that’s what it takes to erase this torment…”  
    
    
 “Then I’ll…” Haruka squeezed his chest. “I’ll destroy it all… I’ll shatter the distortion, and kill all of us in the process…”  
    
    
 “Sei!” Momo yelled. “You can’t… you can’t mean that!”  
    
 Seijuro roared, white lines of fire tracing his skin. His three eyes burned with black fires. “I’ll kill them all!”  
    
    
 Haruka forced the ocean to spin around him. “I’ll kill them all…”  
    
    
 Seijuro attacked again and Momotarou barely had time to dodge and roll to the side. His last arrow was now next to Seijuro’s feet and Momotarou gave up on it. He got to his own feet and created a barrier, but it soon shattered, and the break of the spell shook his spirit down to the core. Momotarou moved back, trying to get distance between them. He had no more arrows. He squeezed his metal composite bow and closed his eyes. This was the end, wasn’t it?  
    
 He thought of Nazuoka.  
    
 He thought of Haruka, forging bullets of Rin’s and Ai’s spirit essence.  
    
 He thought of the Guardian Wing.  
    
 He thought of Chigusa forging a spear out of a barrier.  
    
 Momotarou opened his hand and a red-orange light cracked like a thunderbolt. Momotarou looked down and his eyes widened. He created an arrow. It was gleaming, like a crystal, like a ruby and a topaz swirled together. It wasn’t perfect, though; it was a bit wonky, limp, and a bit bent at the bottom. “That’s okay!” Momotarou readied his bow with it. “I’m not straight either!”  
    
 He fired.  
    
 Seijuro charged at him.  
    
 When the arrow hit, it exploded on contact, throwing Seijuro back.  
    
 “Holy shit…” Momotarou’s eyes widened. “I might be able to…” But then he looked at his hand. No. It used up too much essence. There was no way he could keep that up. He looked back at Seijuro who was struggling to get up. “Then I just, got to be selective… mimic Haru for as long as I can, buy as much time as I can get!”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 The Chrysalis Cathedral began to glow, brilliance of lights surrounded Aiichiro Nitori as he was covered in runes and lines. The spirits of the distortion put their hands on his shoulder, giving them their aid. Nitori’s eyes began to glow bright blue as he lifted off the ground. He raised his hands and the choirs began to sing. Choirs of the spirits, choirs of the stars, choirs of the dead, they sung for him, for he was the conductor. The cathedral came to life in a brilliance of light as the golden rays rushed through the stained glass.  
    
 Outside, the Chrysalis roared and its roar echoed in the cathedral, trying to fight the sound of the choirs.  
    
 There was a ground shaking quake as the Chrysalis slammed against the island.  
    
 Bricks and stone toppled over, glass shattered—a chandelier fell, crashing to the ground.  
    
 Makoto threw both his hands over his head. “Shit!”  
    
 “I’m almost done,” Nitori assured, his voice becoming the voice of a thousand—the voice of a legion—“Soon.”  
    
 “Yeah, okay!” Makoto meeped. “No rush or anything!”  
    
 Nitori put his hands forward. “Makoto!”  
    
 Makoto looked at him and nodded. “I’m ready.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Makoto opened his eyes and felt ice form along the skin of his arms. He rubbed them for warmth and then looked around. He was falling. He was in a black room, surrounded by blue winds and black waters. He looked down to see some kind of platform. He turned his body so he was falling headfirst and he angled his body, aiming it through the wind to the platform. He turned at the last moment, landing on his feet. But when he looked up, he was elsewhere.  
    
  _“Makoto,”_ Nitori whispered, _“The mind is a lucid place… always be on your guard.”_  
    
 Makoto was surrounded by trees. He wanted to call it a forest, but he knew better. When they were younger, it was a forest. When they were younger, they could run around for hours and play in the trees. Makoto looked around trying to find out why he was here, until he heard crying. He turned to see Haruka.  
    
 Haruka wasn’t crying. He was four years old but he wasn’t crying.  
    
 Next to him was a four year old Makoto, eyes wide, spilling tears out of his eyes, screaming and blubbering.  
    
 Makoto blinked. He walked over and saw Haruka staring at his hand. He noticed a small scratch, comparable to a paper cut, on Haruka’s index finger. Although it was a shallow cut, there was a drop of blood.  
    
 Little Makoto sobbed. “B-B-Bleeding!”  
    
 Little Haru turned to him. “I’ll be okay.”  
    
 “No!” Little Makoto shook his head. “W-We have to g-get you t-to the h-h-hospital!”  
    
 Little Haru smiled a little smile. “Come on.” With his other hand, he took Makoto’s and began walking.  
    
 Makoto followed them until he saw Haruka’s old house. His surrounding blurred and soon he was inside. He smelled something cooking, probably mackerel and with a dash of thyme as was Haruka’s favourite.  
    
 Miss Nanase was stirring a pot of chowder. “Oh you two are back already?”  
    
 Makoto smiled when he saw Haruka’s mom. Yuki Nanase. Nanase wasn’t her maiden name, of course, but Makoto always thought there was a sing-song quality to it in some way. Makoto watched her face fill with concern.  
    
 “Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”  
    
 “C-Cut,” Makoto said between blubber.  
    
 Yuki crouched down, lowered herself to their level. “Where are you cut Mako-chan? I can heal it.” She had always been an expert witch, one capable of pretty much anything. Whenever anyone asked Rin, Haru, Makoto, or Sousuke who the strongest witch they knew was—they would all say Haru’s mom.  
    
 Makoto grabbed Haruka’s hand and held it up.  
    
 Yuki blinked and looked at Haruka.  
    
 Haru had the smallest smile on his lips. “Makoto was worried… I don’t want him to worry.”  
    
 The older Makoto crouched down as well, looking at Haruka’s smile with the faintest bittersweetness.  
    
 The younger Haruka turned to the older Makoto.  
    
 Makoto froze. “You can see me?”  
    
 “It’s just a cut, Makoto.” Haruka smiled. “Don’t cry.”  
    
 Makoto touched his face, feeling a single tear. “I’m… crying.”  
    
 “Mm.” Haruka nodded. “Because you keep it locked inside. Like a box. Like a treasure chest.”  
    
 “Is… that so?”  
    
 “Yeah, like the video games. The chests are locked,” Haruka explained, “But if you press ‘A’ you can open them. That’s kinda like you. You gotta press ‘A’.”  
    
 “I wish I could,” Makoto admitted. “There’s no ‘A’ button in real life, Haru.”  
    
 “I can’t stay here much,” Haruka explained. “The big one is scary.”  
    
 “Scary? Who’s scary?”  
    
 Makoto opened his eyes. The scene in front of him disappeared. He felt eyes on him and he stood up, looking over his shoulder.  
    
 The Haruka in front of him was older, but still a kid in the older Makoto’s eyes. He was thirteen, wearing ripped black skinny jeans and a tight white, sleeveless shirt. He wore several things around his neck and several bracelets on his right hand.  
    
 Makoto laughed.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened. “Huh?”  
    
 “Sorry, sorry!” Makoto smiled. “I just remembered, when you used to dress like this, I thought you were such a hottie in those clothes.”  
    
 Haruka tilted his head. “I’m not now?”  
    
 “I’m almost twenty-six,” Makoto said. “You look cute, yeah… but you’re just a kid for me. I’m sorry.”  
    
 Haruka looked away. “But… I am cute, to you, right?”  
    
 “Of course,” Makoto blurted out.  
    
 Haruka looked at him and his body became a blur. He aged ten years and then stepped forward, wearing the old standard witch uniform for the third war. “Even now?”  
    
 “Always.” Makoto eyed him. “But you’re not my Haru.”  
    
 Haruka looked away before nodding. “That one… is scary.”  
    
 Makoto closed his eyes. He didn’t know why he did but he heard the sound of water, the ocean, the tide coming in and out. He listened to the rustling of the waves, the occasional caw of seagulls, fish splashing in the water ways away and little critter crabs and whatnot skittering along the sand. Makoto opened his eyes and for a moment he was blinded by the sunset. He saw their house and he smiled.  
    
 It all faded for a moment.  
    
 Makoto blinked.  
    
 It was night. Makoto stood at the edge of a lake.  
    
 Haruka, only seven, held a hand over the water. Small drops lifted out of the body of water and formed a wiggling sphere. It could barely hold its form, but for his age that was fantastic.  
    
 “That’s so cool!”  
    
 Makoto blinked.  
    
 It was day again. Makoto and Haruka were five, in a classroom. Haruka had managed to make a small sphere of water, barely the size of older Makoto’s thumb, but little Makoto was practically bouncing in place.  
    
 “Is it?” Haruka asked.  
    
 Makoto nodded. “Yeah! I can’t do that!”  
    
 “It’s hard,” admitted Haruka as he looked at Makoto. “But… my mom and dad do it so well.”  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened. The school broke apart and a flurry of images passed through his eyes. It was too much and Makoto shielded his face, until one image took precedence. He was back at the lake again. Haruka stood at the edge. He was seven. Standing at the centre was his mother.  
    
 Yuki raised one hand and the water twisted together, creating tentacles of ice. They wrapped around her like a cocoon, one at a time, until she was covered in an oval of frost. Slowly, it broke apart and Yuki raised higher, butterfly wings of ice on her back. Her white hair flowed gently as snowflakes and bits of ice hung in the air around her.  
    
  _“One day, Haruka, you’ll hatch. Don’t fight it.  
    
 Release your inhibition. Release everything inside.”_  
    
 Makoto reached out but the image flickered away. He was in darkness. Everywhere he looked, he saw black. He looked at his hands and frowned.  
    
 “Hey.”  
    
 Makoto looked over his shoulder.  
    
 Haruka was sixteen, eyeing him. “Why did I pick you?”  
    
 Makoto turned around. “Sorry?”  
    
 “Rin’s hotter, better in bed; he brings out a side of me you could never bring out.”  
    
 Makoto took a step back.  
    
 “Hm.” Haruka looked away. “Those aren’t my thoughts…” He raised a hand and tapped his temple with two fingers. “They’re yours. Be careful what you bring in here. You’ll kill both of us.”  
    
 Makoto opened his mouth to speak, but everything blurred again.  
    
 They were on a playground, the other kids had formed a circle. He saw his younger self behind Haruka, telling him not to but it was useless.  
    
 Rin was ten, holding a fireball that was smaller than the size of his hand.  
    
 Haruka was twelve, strings of water whirling around him.  
    
  _“Fight!”_ the other kids shouted.  
    
  _“Fight!”_ the kids shouted.  
    
  _“Fight!”_ the kids shouted.  
    
 Rin tossed the fireball.  
    
 The other kids began to chant louder, louder, louder, until Makoto closed his eyes and blocked out his ears. Even as the image in front of him spilled away, the sound of them yelling _“Fight!”_ echoed in his brain, reverberated in his skull.  
    
 When it finally faded away, he opened his eyes again.  
    
 The two of them were walking home. Haruka had his eyes to the floor. Makoto looked up to the clouds. Their backpacks were on their backs. They wore school uniforms. They were fifteen. Makoto was smiling. Haruka was not. Nothing exciting happened to Makoto that day. But for Haru, something did. Makoto was content with silence. Haruka was not.  
    
 “Why do you bother?” Makoto finally asked, a question that burned into his mind for years. “He’s just trying to rile you up.”  
    
 Haruka looked at him. “Huh?”  
    
 “You’re giving him, Rin, what he wants.”  
    
 “They’re fun.”  
    
 “What’s fun?”  
    
 Haruka looked away. “The fights.”  
    
 The image froze.  
    
 Older Makoto shook his head. “That’s not how it happened… I never asked the question, because I was… because I was afraid what the answer, what would be his response.”  
    
 The scene rewinded.  
    
 The two of them were walking home. Haruka had his eyes to the floor. Makoto looked up to the clouds. Their backpacks were on their backs. They wore school uniforms. They were fifteen. Makoto was smiling. Haruka was not. Nothing exciting happened to Makoto that day. But for Haru, something did. Makoto was content with silence. Haruka was not.  
    
 “I kissed Rin.”  
    
 Makoto’s smile dropped. He stopped walking, looking sidelong.  
    
 Haruka kept walking.  
    
 Makoto forced a smile and quickly caught up. “Oh? You… kissed, Rin?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 “Wow…” Makoto kept smiling. “I’m… I’m so happy for you guys.” He looked to the ground, kicking a leaf that got in his way. “I always knew you’d be boyfriends. That’s great! It’s… great. Yeah.”  
    
 “I…” Haruka looked up to the sky.  
    
 “Haru?”  
    
 “I don’t know.”  
    
 “You don’t know what, Haruka?”  
    
 Haru winced. Makoto used his full name. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what that meant. “I don’t know if I like Rin.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Why did you kiss him then?”  
    
 “He said… it would be cool to kiss someone, and then he asked me.”  
    
 “Yeah? What was it like?”  
    
 “I don’t know,” Haruka muttered. “Weird. It was weird. I don’t like kissing.”  
    
 “Oh.” Makoto looked at him tentatively. “You sure? Maybe you need to find the right person.” His eyes went back down to the ground. “I mean, maybe we could, um…”  
    
 “I don’t know if I like Rin,” Haruka changed the subject.  
    
 “Mhm?” Makoto’s face was beet red.  
    
 “I thought… if I kissed him, I’d find out. Like in the movies.”  
    
 “And?”  
    
 Haruka shook his head. “It didn’t tell me anything.”  
    
 Makoto walked up the steps to their house and he opened the door.  
    
   
 Older Makoto watched the image blur away and he hugged his arm. Yeah. That was a memory they never talked about. Makoto had figured Haruka had forgotten about it, but that was kind of foolish. If Makoto hadn’t forgotten, why would Haruka have? The world around him began to blur and Makoto closed his eyes. He couldn’t take much more of these transitions. He hoped this one was the last one. When he opened his eyes…  
    
 He closed them again.  
    
 He didn’t know why he did but he heard the sound of water, the ocean, the tide coming in and out. He listened to the rustling of the waves, the occasional caw of seagulls, fish splashing in the water ways away and little critter crabs and whatnot skittering along the sand. Makoto opened his eyes and for a moment he was blinded by the sunset. He saw their house and he smiled.  
    
 “I’m leaving you…” Makoto heard his own voice.  
    
 Makoto turned around.  
    
 Haruka was turned away.  
    
 “Did you hear me?” said a Makoto that looked exactly like him. “I said I’m leaving you.”  
    
 The real Makoto frowned. “What?” He stepped forward. “What’s this?”  
    
 Something grabbed the back of his neck.  
    
 “Wait!”  
    
 He was pulled away. The image of their house was further and further away. He saw a set of double doors close, shutting him off from the sight of it. A gate fell down to keep it safe. Chains and barbed wire coiled around it. Finally, one more door closed and Makoto stumbled backwards until he tripped.  
    
 He was sitting on some kind of glass in a black room. A wooden door was in front of him.  
    
 “What the hell,” Makoto murmured as he stood up. He reached for the door handle but the air became thick around him. “What?”  
    
  _“Makoto!”_  
    
 Makoto paused, looking up. “Aiichiro?”  
    
  _“Yes, it’s me! Finally, I was trying to reach you but there’s been so much interference. I can’t really see what’s going on, but… from what I understand, Haruka is just… torn. He’s torn to shreds. He’s completely in pieces, and I think you have to kind of… put him back together.”_  
    
 “Put him back to…” Makoto looked at the door. “Okay.” He lowered his hand and turned away. “How exactly do I do that?”  
    
  _“I wish I knew, but… I think I can detect five major Harukas right now. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I think if you can sort of… put those pieces back together, then the little pieces will come too.”_  
    
 “Five Harus?” Makoto thought back to the ones he’d already seen. “There’s more than five, though.”  
    
  _“Well, it’s more like… there are four Haru’s that need to be brought out. There are four sides of himself he’s sort of locked away. Right now, all I feel is his anger, his rage. It’s overriding his other emotions to the point where they’re not even being suppressed; they’re just being denied existence.”_  
    
 “So it’s like he’s bottling it all up,” Makoto muttered. “And I’ve got to undo what he’s done to himself?”  
    
  _“Exactly. His happiness, his sadness, his excitement, and his fear… they seem to be the one he’s completely pushing away. There are more complicated emotions too. Like, well, you know… love, and all that. But I honestly don’t think he’s ready for any of that until you deal with his rage. And the only way to get him to stop raging is by putting the other Haru’s together. Does that make sense?”_  
    
 “Yes, it does.” Makoto turned to the door. “And this…” He reached for it.  
    
  _“Don’t!”_  
    
 Makoto paused. “Why?”  
    
  _“I can’t explain it, but well… simplified, it’s just that I don’t think Haruka wants you to see that one. You’re in his mind; if you upset him, he can kill you without – pardon the pun – without a second thought. If he wants you dead, you’ll die before he even realised what he’s done.”_  
    
 “Okay.” Makoto closed his eyes. “So I have to wander his mind until I find the other Harus?”  
    
  _“That’s essentially it, yeah. One more thing, though… Sensei says she can sense Momo in the Chrysalis, but… his spirit essence is becoming weaker as time goes by. I don’t want to rush you, take as much time as you need to, but please don’t take any more time than you need either.”_  
    
 “Okay. Will you help me through this?”  
    
  _“I… can’t. In the human mind, a second can last an hour, and an hour can last a second. You exist in the realm of relativity and conscious fault. I’m trying to use the flaws of the human mind to your advantage, but that’s all I can do. You’re on your own. I’m sorry.”_  
    
 “That’s okay!” Makoto smiled. “You’re doing more than I can ask for, Ai. I can’t thank you enough.”  
    
  _“I’m just returning the favour!”_  
    
 “Returning the favour? Favour for what?”  
    
  _“You and Haru… if it weren’t for you guys, Rin and I would have never brought Nagisa back. You did everything in your power to help us then – and I’ll do the same now.”_  
    
 “Ai…”  
    
  _“Shit!”_  
    
 Makoto felt the air thicken. “What’s going on?”  
    
  _“I think the Chrysalis knows what we’re up to. I’ll try to check in with you again, but I’ve got to move!”_  
    
 “Good luck out there,” Makoto called out. “And stay safe, okay?”  
    
 There was no reply.


	14. Four of Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last time I was a couple hours late... so this update I'm a couple hours early! Please, enjoy the chapter!
> 
> * * *

 Blurs of lights and waters surrounded him and Makoto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of a new air. It was… dusty. Stagnant. It tasted untouched and dank. He opened his eyes and was surrounded by gold. Gold walls, gold floors, all of which came alive by the light of a thousand torches. Makoto glanced to the side, seeing Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting something or another on the walls. Makoto looked around. “This is a memory…?”  
    
 Black cords whirled in the air.  
    
 Makoto followed it. He ran down the dark hallway until he came until a large open room—floor to ceiling in gold, coming alive with the torch light of a thousand fires. His breath would have been taken away if he didn’t force himself to come to a halt. Where large golden figures loomed over was an open coffin. Black lines had lifted out a mummy, infusing into the white wraps. The Pharaohs were among the most powerful witches in their time, and to revive one…  
    
 The linen wraps shattered and the figure opened its arms, fingers uncurling after years.  
    
 Haruka ran past him then jumped to the side.  
    
 The Pharaoh unleashed a wheel of fire.  
    
 Haruka barely dodged; he landed with a twirl and unleashed several bullets.  
    
 A red barrier formed between them and the bullets were ineffective.  
    
 Another Makoto, only a few years younger, ran past him, running forward, lunging into the air. He held his blade skyward before crashing it down. The Pharaoh, however, flew through the air, dodging it with ease. The other Makoto’s attack didn’t connect and he landed a few steps from the coffin.  
    
 Haruka fired.  
    
 The Pharaoh twirled to the side, not caring that the bullets exploded against his gold room. It flew forward and grabbed Haruka’s throat. The linen wraps twirled around it’s wrist before wrapping around Haruka’s neck. Haruka’s eyes widened and he brought up his gun, but the Pharaoh slapped his weapons away as if they were nothing but toys. The Pharaoh lifted Haruka off the ground and breathed out a black mist.  
    
 Haruka held his breath; but, quickly, he realised that was the undead’s plan all along.  
    
 Lights swirled around another Makoto, only a few years younger, arcane circles with microscopic patterns and details too intricate for the human eye to detect. “Hold on Haru,” he whispered. “Just a little more.” The energy whirled around him and he began the incantation. It was a poem, really. Most light rituals were a hymn or a melody, to please the choirs of the angels. He sang the tune in his head. Energy began to swirl together in the ceiling and he could feel the spirits of the fallen pour themselves into the magic rune. “Almost…” He opened his eyes to see Haruka barely holding it together. His heart skipped a beat. He slammed his hand down on the floor.  
    
 A beam of light pierced down, cleansing the poisoned air and ripping through the Pharaoh’s spine.  
    
 The resurrection spell had ended.  
    
 The corpse fell on top of Haruka, who caught it in his arms. A deeply disturbed look formed on his face, but his life as a witch came first. He brought it to the coffin and put the body back inside. Although vandalised and burned, possibly beyond saving, he knew the witches who were familiar with Egyptian witchcraft would be able to perform some kind of damage control with the body, new mummy wraps and all.  
    
 Makoto grabbed the huge cover and heaved it over the coffin.  
    
 Haruka shivered, shuddering off the thought of a dead body over him. “You…”  
    
 Makoto took a deep breath and looked at him. He didn’t know it, but the lingering spirit residue of the light spells had him glowing, although it was fading.  
    
 “You did it,” Haruka whispered. “You saved me…”  
    
 Makoto grinned. “Yeah.”  
    
 “You, I…”  
    
 He paused. “Haru?”  
    
 “I can, always count on you.”  
    
 “Of course,” Makoto assured. “I’m always here for you.”  
    
    
 The real Makoto frowned. He heard footsteps. He turned around.  
    
 Another Haruka walked up to him, shaking his head. “That’s not how this memory goes.”  
    
 “Huh?” The real Makoto blinked. “What did I say?”  
    
 “Nothing, you just… blushed, and mumbled garbage.”  
    
 “Yep, that… that sounds like me alright, too scared to even talk to my own boyfriend.”  
    
 “No.” Haruka shook his head, eyeing the ‘them’ in front of them. “We weren’t together. Not yet.”  
    
 “Huh? Oh. That’s right… we had our first real kiss when Nagisa…” Makoto looked away. “This was before then. But, even then… we…”  
    
 “We kind of were,” Haruka whispered. “I feel… warm, I think. I’m always warm when you’re here. I know, I… I know I don’t show it. I don’t know how, but I…”  
    
 Makoto smiled and kissed Haruka’s cheek. “So you’re the happiness, huh?”  
    
 “Yeah.” Haruka pointed forward. “Watch the rest of it.”  
    
    
 “You did it,” the other Haruka whispered again. “You saved me…”  
    
 The slightly younger Makoto grinned. “Yeah.”  
    
 “You, I…”  
    
 He paused. “Haru?”  
    
 “I can, always count on you.”  
    
 “Aha.” Makoto gave a nervous laugh. He scratched his cheek and tried to speak, but it came out as a little sputter of senseless words.  
    
 Haruka walked over, eyeing his best friend before he put his hands on Makoto’s shoulders. He went on his tippy toes. Softly, gently, he pressed his lips against Makoto’s cheek.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened.  
    
 Haruka’s cheeks warmed slightly and he looked away.  
    
 Makoto giggled something akin to a four year old schoolgirl, and his cheeks burned. He scratched his nose, looking all over the room before looking at Haru again. “C-Could I…?”  
    
 Haruka looked at him.  
    
 Makoto leaned in and kissed his cheek.  
    
 Haruka smiled.  
    
 “Aha, I just, I just did that!” Makoto covered his face with both of his hands.  
    
 The younger Makoto and Haruka faded away.  
    
   
 “Geez.” The real Makoto put his hands on his hips. “I’m so freakin’ embarrassing…”  
    
 “Shut up,” Haruka muttered, “You’re perfect.”  
    
 “What? Me? Dorky me?”  
    
 Haruka nodded and walked forward. “This is my favourite memory.”  
    
 Makoto paused. “This?”  
    
 “Yeah.”  
    
 “Why?”  
    
 Haruka turned around and his skin came alive with the glow of the torches. “This is… this is when I realised you really loved me… At the time, I wasn’t sure if I loved you, and to be honest I still don’t know if I love you, but… I realised I was loved. For the first time, I really felt… loved.” He put his hand over his chest. “I’ll never admit it, but I’ve never loved myself, especially then. So that moment, that moment I felt like I was really… worth something.”  
    
 Makoto’s eyes softened.  
    
 “You helped me, Makoto, you helped me realise that I’m not as bad as I thought, that I wasn’t this… unloveable, unlikeable, worthless person.”  
    
 “Haru…” Makoto stepped forward.  
    
 “I’m horrible, to myself,” he explained. “The way I think about myself, the way I talk about myself, the way I feel when I look at my own face in the mirror… But I remember this. I know this. I know, because of this, that someone loves me. I still… I still don’t know why, but I feel… happy. You don’t know how many times I’ve just wanted to, end, everything…”  
    
 “You mean…” Makoto felt a twist in his gut. “Like, suicide?”  
    
 “I still think about it, how easy it would be.” Haruka looked away. “I don’t want to do it, and I have no intention of ever doing it, but there are times I fantasise about it. Or maybe I just fantasise about death in general… I don’t know. My head’s not a healthy place. But, you.” Haruka swallowed hard. “But you, you saved me. More times than you know.”  
    
 Makoto walked over and cupped Haruka’s face. “Haru…”  
    
 “It’s hard…” Haruka breathed heavy. “Trying to decide between what I want and what my duty asks of me… When Rin and Ai, when they dealt with the problem in Nazuoka, I… I wanted to help them, but I… I didn’t know how. I still don’t know how to help. The world scares me, and my friends need me, but I don’t know how to help anyone. But… a part of me knows, if you’re by my side, then I’ll be okay.”  
    
 Makoto moved his hand away and kissed Haruka’s cheek.  
    
 “Thank you,” Haruka began to glow a bright blue before he began to dissolve. “Thank you for letting me express this feeling…”  
   
 The blue light swirled and drifted to Makoto’s chest. Makoto put a hand over his heart and felt something incredibly warm there. He closed his eyes and the pyramids around him began to fade. A part of him wanted to cradle Haru’s happiness, a part of him wanted to rest, gain respite, but he knew he had to keep going. There would be no time for breaks. He felt, rather than saw, a new image constructed around him. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.  
    
   
 A hallway in a wooden cabin.  
    
   
 Makoto blinked. “Home.”  
    
 “You’re here!”  
    
 Makoto looked to his side, seeing Haruka.  
    
 Haruka used both hands to grab Makoto’s hand. “You’re here! You’re home, you came back! You came back!”  
    
 Makoto blinked once, twice, three times.  
    
 Haruka practically bounced as he pulled Makoto into the kitchen. “You’re here… you came home.” He tugged his hand. “I’m so glad you’re home!”  
    
 “You’re like a puppy,” Makoto said with a laugh. “Are you always this excited?”  
    
 Haruka nodded about fourteen hundred times. “Yeah!”  
    
 “Really? I… have a hard time believing it.”  
    
 “I hide it,” Haru admitted.  
    
 “It’s pretty cute.” Makoto sat on a chair and pulled Haru into his lap. “Maybe that’s why you never get along with the cats.”  
    
 Haruka gasped. “Are you comparing me to a dog?”  
    
 “Kinda.” Makoto tilted his head. “Since when did you feel this way?”  
    
 “Always!” Haruka nuzzled his hair. “It’s… the best part of my day, being with you. When I come home to you, when you come home to me, I just…” Haruka slipped off Makoto’s lap and practically bounced around the kitchen. “I hide this part of me, because I’m afraid, you know?” He turned to Makoto and smiled. “I don’t want to seem clingy… and I know Rin and Nagisa would tease me for it, but I can’t wait until I’m with you again.”  
    
 “It’s pretty cute.” Makoto stood up and slipped an arm around Haruka’s waist.  
    
 Haruka just laughed. “See? It’s cute. You called me cute.”  
    
 “It’s very cute.”  
    
 A third person stepped into the room.  
    
 Makoto blinked as he turned.  
    
 It was the Haruka from the tomb, the Haruka of happiness, or whatever. “That’s why we lock him away.”  
    
 The puppy Haruka pouted.  
    
 “I like him, though.” Makoto kissed the top of his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you… excited about… anything.”  
    
 “But I am!”  
    
 The other Haruka crossed his arms. “We are… we’re excited about a lot of things. Time off, time with you, the shrine, our house… do you remember when we built it?”  
    
 “Of course.”  
    
 The excited Haruka nuzzled Makoto’s chest. “I don’t… want to be locked away anymore. I might not be our main emotion, but I’m still here from time to time.”  
    
 Makoto’s eyes softened. “I don’t want you to be locked away either.”  
    
 Both Haruka’s dissolved into the light and swirled together before going inside Makoto’s chest.  
    
 Makoto took a deep breath, watching their house disappear. “Two down.” He closed his eyes. “Two more to go.”  
    
   
 He was in a hallway again, but this one was of a school.  
    
   
 Makoto walked forward. It was dark and the lights above flickered. Every door he passed was bolted shut, but one had an open door. He felt a squeeze in his chest. He had Happiness and Excitement, and those were the only two positive emotions, so… He stepped into the room and glanced to the back of the room.  
    
 A Haruka stood still, staring at him.  
    
 Makoto stepped in and took a few steps. “Why this? Why here?” He looked around. “Which memory did you have here?”  
    
 “No memory,” Haruka muttered. “There’s no one… single memory that I connect with.”  
    
 Makoto smiled. “Okay.”  
    
 “I…” Haruka looked at him. “You have saved me more times than you know.” The room darkened. “But I… I never saved myself.” The air became thick. “I’ve never saved myself. I just used you. I used you to make myself feel better.”  
    
 “Haru…” Makoto shook his hair. “That’s not true at all.”  
    
 “I can’t, I can’t do a quarter for you what you do for me.”  
    
 “It’s not a competition.”  
    
 Haruka sighed. He walked over to the windows. Beyond the thin sheet of glass was a concrete wall. Haruka pulled his head back before slamming it against the glass—blood trickled down and the glass cracked outwards.  
    
 “Haruka!”  
    
 His blood was black. He didn’t move.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened. “Haru…”  
    
 Haruka moved his head back, but there was no wound. “Useless… I’m useless.”  
    
 “You’re not!” Makoto breathed a sigh of relief. “I know how it’s like to feel weak, but—”  
    
 “Shut up!” Haruka swiped his arms and desks went flying, crashing into the walls around them. Water pooled around him and moved to swirl around his hand. Haruka punched the wall and the blue fluid splashed everywhere.  
    
 Makoto took a step back.  
    
 “I hate it…” Haruka’s voice cracked, “I hate it. I’m trapped in here… coddled, like a child, silenced again and again, in fear of what I used to think once.”  
    
 Makoto frowned. Was that Haruka talking, or…?  
    
 “I hate this!” Haruka’s legs gave out and he fell to the floor. He looked down and his hair hid his face. “I hate this… I hate not allowed to feeling weak. And I hate you… I hate you, I hate you for making me feel this way, Makoto. And I hate myself for hating you.”  
    
 “Wh-What?” Makoto’s eyes widened. He didn’t even know what emotion he was dealing with. It wasn’t rage, despite being angry, and it wasn’t quite guilt or shame. It was some kind of self-hate, some kind of feeling of being weak?  
    
 And that’s when it hit him.  
    
 “Oh.”  
    
 Haruka looked up at him.  
    
 “I get it.” Makoto walked over and then sat down, so he would be at eye level with Haru. “Here you are, trying to be sad, and here I am not letting you. You say you’re sad because of a reason and I say no don’t be sad. That’s… not helping.”  
    
 Haruka looked down again, giving a slow nod.  
    
 “I’m trying to help you, but I’m just making it worse. You’re trying to express yourself, but I’m not letting you do that… Instead of listening to what you have to say, I’m just invalidating how you feel. I’m sorry.” Makoto closed his eyes. “Tell me how you feel.”  
    
 Haruka looked up. “Huh?”  
    
 “All of it. Please.”  
    
 Haruka eyed him carefully before swallowing hard. “I… I feel like I’m a bad person.”  
    
 Makoto opened his mouth to say ‘No you’re not’, but shut it tight.  
    
 Haruka eyed him for another moment before going on. “I feel like I’m a waste of space, and a downer, and I think… I think everyone else would have more fun without me. Sometimes… when Nagisa invites us to the shrine, I want to go but… I know everyone would just prefer me not being there. And, I know. I know some part of you hates me.”  
    
 Makoto frowned. “Haru?”  
    
 “You hate me. Even if you don’t, you _should_ hate me. I’ll… I’ll never change. I’ll just drain you, and I don’t deserve you. I’ll ruin you.”  
    
 Makoto looked away. “Hm.”  
    
 Haruka swallowed hard. “That’s all you have to say?”  
    
 “No.” Makoto looked down at his crossed legs. “I’m just trying to… I’m wondering how I should reply. Because I don’t want to just say you’re wrong… Your feelings are valid. You have the right to feel whatever way you feel. You’re a manifestation of Haruka’s sadness… and you have every right to exist as much as every other piece of him.”  
    
 Haruka’s eyes widened.  
    
 “But… that being said, if I promise not to invalidate how you feel, you have to promise not to invalidate how I feel.”  
    
 “What… do you mean by that?”  
    
 “Haru.”  
    
 “Yeah?”  
    
 Makoto looked up. “I love you.”  
    
 There was a glint of moisture in Haruka’s eyes.  
    
 “I’m happy with you,” Makoto explained. “Honestly, I feel better with you. What can take me down when I have you at my side?” He reached a hand forward and stroked Haruka’s cheek. “I’ve never thought of you as a waste of space; honestly, Haru, you’re the most important thing in my life. You’re my favourite thing.” He paused for a moment, making sure the words sunk in. “That’s how I feel. I can’t deny how you feel, and you can’t deny how I feel, but maybe we could take how each other feels when we think about things.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 “It’s… it’s wrong of me ask you to listen to me, when you’re not being heard, but we’re both in the wrong. I promise I will listen to you, if you listen to me.”  
    
 Haruka nodded several times, eyes on the verge of letting tears go.  
    
 Makoto stood up and offered his hand. “Haru-chan.”  
    
 Haruka took the hand and then threw himself forward, pressing his face against Makoto’s chest.  
    
 Makoto closed his eyes and hugged him tight. He could feel the moisture of tears, but he didn’t mind it. He smiled. He knew how badly Haruka needed to let it out. How many years, Makoto wondered, did Haruka lock away all his feelings? Makoto hugged him a bit tighter.  
    
 “Thank you,” Haruka whispered before dissolving into the light.  
    
 Makoto let it infuse his heart and he felt the world break away, but it felt different this time.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Makoto opened his eyes and he stood in front of the door. “The last one…”  
    
 “Yes.”  
    
 Makoto turned to see three Harukas. Although they looked identical, somehow he knew the difference between them. “Will you let me through?”  
    
 The excited Haruka nodded about fourteen times. “Yeah!”  
    
 The sad Haruka looked away, rubbing his arm. “It’s hard to say, but yeah…”  
    
 The happy Haruka crossed his arms. “There are six of us all. Happiness, Sadness, Excitement, Fear, Hatred, and Tenderness. You have three of us on your side, so you can go wherever you want now. It won’t be easy… the one we lock behind that door.” He pointed forward. “We keep him locked away more than anyone else.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Even Hatred and Tenderness?”  
    
 The same Haruka nodded. “Hatred is the one locking us away, and Tenderness… he ran away when Hatred became too strong. This one, this one is dangerous… We, we won’t come with you, so good luck.”  
    
 “You won’t come with me?” Makoto eyed them all and he understood. They were afraid. They were afraid of Haruka’s fear. Instead, he nodded. “Okay. You guys wait here, just leave it to me.”  
    
 He stepped forward and the wooden door opened. The light pulled him in. The barbed wire snapped, the chains were pulled away, the gate rose and a set of double doors opened. The light and warmth blinded him and Makoto opened his eyes, letting them take him.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 He heard the sound of water, the ocean, the tide coming in and out. He listened to the rustling of the waves, the occasional caw of seagulls, fish splashing in the water ways away and little critter crabs and whatnot skittering along the sand. Makoto opened his eyes and for a moment he was blinded by the sunset.  
    
 “I’m leaving you.”  
    
 Makoto turned to see himself talking to Haruka, who was turned away.  
    
 “You worthless, stupid idiot,” said the fake Makoto. “You can’t even talk to me, huh? Are you brain dead? You won’t say anything to me so you might as well be, no? I’m leaving. I said I’m fucking leaving. I’ll stay, I’ll stay if you ask me to. All you gotta say is ‘I love you’ and I’ll stay. I promise.”  
    
 Haruka said nothing.  
    
 Makoto felt sick.  
    
 “Worthless,” the fake went on, “You’re so lucky you let me have your ass – that’s the only reason I’m with you. You’re just my fuck toy.”  
    
 “What?” Makoto stepped forward. “Hey!”  
    
 “Not gonna say anything, huh?” he went on, “I never liked you. I pitied you. That’s why I’m with you right now. I just made a mistake when I thought we were going to die, and I’ve had no real reason to stay with you. The sex is pretty good, though. But don’t get me wrong: I don’t love you. Ha. No one does… no one ever has. I’ve been hiding this from you for so long. It’s the perfect sweet sick little joke I’ve been waiting to tell you about for—”  
    
 “Stop it!” Makoto yelled.  
    
 The false Makoto turned to him and smiled. “I’ll stay if he says it.”  
    
 “What…?” Makoto shook his head. “What kind of monster are you?”  
    
 “I’m the _real_ Makoto. I’m the Makoto that exists when all this good boy _bullshit_ goes away, the one underneath all the passive aggressive layers… I’m the one that Haru sees tidbits of every now and then.”  
    
 “I…” Makoto looked down at the sand below, hearing the lap of the waves. “I know I have those tendencies, and I don’t deal with stress or any of my negative feelings in a healthy manner… but that’s not who I am.” He looked up. “You’re not who I am. That’s not how I feel at all!”  
    
 “It doesn’t matter what you feel.” He laughed. “When it comes down to it, this is Haru’s mind. The poison you’ve put in his little head is swimming around in his fears. It’s kinda cool, isn’t it? Now, now look at Haru. He’ll freeze before he can even tell you the truth, so he made me up to tell you for him.” He grabbed Haruka’s hair, yanking and twisting his head to face Makoto.  
    
 Makoto’s heart stopped.  
    
 Metal rods speared his lips. Red thread had sewn his lips shut. His eyes were red from crying.  
    
 Makoto’s eyes softened.  
    
 “He’s useless!” the fake one declared. “Everyone knows he’s useless.”  
    
 “He isn’t!”  
    
 “Oh, really?”  
    
 “Stay out of this!”  
    
 “Fine.” The false one whispered something in Haruka’s ear, causing his eyes to widen. He let go of Haru’s hair and looked at Makoto. “Go fix everything.”  
    
 Makoto watched him dissolve into darkness. He walked up to Haruka, who flinched. Makoto cupped his face and kissed his forehead. “It’s okay… it’s okay to feel the way you do.”  
    
 Haruka pushed his forehead against where Makoto’s shoulder met his neck.  
    
 “I have a feeling your feelings… are all too familiar. You tell yourself you shouldn’t doubt me, you tell yourself you don’t want to bother me, right? You tell yourself you’re just being dumb and that these thoughts inside you matter. But they do matter. It’s okay to feel that way. It’s okay to feel afraid, to feel anxious, to feel guilty. It’s okay to ask if you’re being a bother. It’s okay to ask me if I love you… because if you really need to know, then the only other choice is bottling it up. Right? You have to let it out.”  
    
 Haruka shook his head.  
    
 “It’ll be better if you do.”  
    
 Haruka shook his head.  
    
 “But, Haru, if you let it out… I can tell you that it’s not true. You’re not worthless, and you’re definitely not useless. You do so much, for The Eye, for me, for Nagisa, for the Mahō, for Gou… for everyone. You do nothing but your best. You do so much that I… I’m scared, I’m scared you do too much sometimes. I’m scared you don’t sleep enough. I’m scared you’ll overwork yourself, because you think that’s what I want.”  
    
 Haruka leaned in further.  
    
 “And I won’t leave you.” Makoto hugged him tight. “I know you’re confused if you love me or not, and that’s okay. But even if our relationship doesn’t work out… I’ll always be your best friend. That’s good enough for me, because… I want you in my life. I’ve always had you at my side, and I wouldn’t know what to do without you. It’s almost scary, right? Isn’t it? We’ve been together since preschool, and I can’t imagine not having you. Is that how you feel?”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 “And you’re not sure if you love me, but you’re forcing yourself into this relationship with me just to keep me?”  
    
 Haruka nodded slowly.  
    
 “How…?” Makoto closed his eyes. “How could you find your answer if you let yourself be overwhelmed with that kind of fear?” Makoto smiled. “But… I’m happy. Thank God, or whatever exists… thank whatever that I’m not the only one who feels this way. These are normal emotions, and they’re okay. I… know I’m not a perfect boyfriend, and… I’m sorry. I have been passive aggressive, and I do things behind your back just because I can. But, honestly, being with you is great. When I’m with you, and you have time for me and I have time for you, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I let you feel this way.”  
    
 “Ma…”  
    
 Makoto pulled back.  
    
 “Makoto.” The spears and thread were gone. Haruka’s eyes watered. “Stay… with me, until I figure it out.”  
    
 “Of course.” Makoto nodded. “But… we need your help.”  
    
 “I’ll come.” Haruka began to dissolve. “I have to tell the others I’m sorry… and that… I want to get better.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Where mind met body, met soul, met heart—the spiritual epicentre—was the core.  
    
 A circle in the sky began to glow bright before Makoto broke through. Blue fires spiraled endlessly upwards and Makoto dodged them. A beam of blue fired straight at him and he held his hand out. A barrier formed in time and he winced. The beam continued to fire against him as he held the barrier forward; the blue light split like a flower against his shield. Makoto reached for something in his pocket—a Shade Core—and then grabbed his blade. Infusing his weapon with the stored energy, he slashed through his barrier, shattering the beam.  
    
 He looked down to three rings.  
    
 A Haruka at the centre was bathing in the blue fire as he unleashed it everywhere.  
    
 “Here we go!” Makoto put his free hand to his heart and called on what was kept inside. He drew them out and swiped his hand, unleashing four beams of light.  
    
 The four Harukas landed on the lowest platform, evenly spaced. They put their hands together and began drawing the blue fire to them.  
    
 Makoto landed on the lowest platform and ran up a set of crystal stairs. When he got to the highest platform a bolt of blue-white fire greeted him. He used the flat of his blade to block the hit. The fire broke into specs and Makoto put his blade on his back. “Haruka.”  
    
 The Haruka standing at the centre opened its eyes, which were glowing white as they leaked spirit essence. “You…”  
    
 Makoto stepped forward.  
    
 “What are you doing here?”  
    
 “I’m here to help, Haru.”  
    
 “Shut up!” Haruka roared and a blast of fire emerged from him. “Shut up! Shut up! Everyone wants to help me, huh? Fuck it. Fuck it! I’ll burn everything down! I’ll burn the Chrysalis Cathedral—I’ll break this distortion and kill everyone inside it! I’ll burn The Eye… I’ll burn the shrine… I’ll burn our home… I’ll burn it all down! I will burn the sky and make the it fall on our heads!”  
    
 Makoto eyed him for a moment before he smiled. “Okay.”  
    
 Haruka paused and the fires grew weak. “Wha…?”  
    
 “If that’s what you really want…” Makoto smiled. “Then okay.”  
    
 A growl burned in the back of his throat and he unleashed a wave of fire. “Shut up!”  
    
 Makoto let the flame past him and he stayed put, staring forward. “I’m sorry… I never knew how you were feeling, how you felt… I just assumed. I assumed I knew it all. I… never knew what kind of demons you had inside you.”  
    
 “So?” Haruka spat back. “So what!?”  
    
 “Who do you hate, Haru?”  
    
 “What?”  
    
 “You have a reason for being so angry, don’t you?”  
    
 Haruka paused, eyeing him carefully.  
    
 “Or is this anger just something inherently you?”  
    
 “It’s just… who I am. The basis of my person… is rage.”  
    
 “Hm.” Makoto ran a hand through his hair. “I know I’m not supposed to contradict how you feel, but I don’t believe that… I think there’s so much more to you than just this blind rage… I’ve seen you get angry plenty of times, you know? Mostly at Rin. But at other people too, like when Nagisa’s pranks go too far, or when Sousuke or I do something and put ourselves in danger. You’re always the first one to scold us.”  
    
 The fires began to quell as Haruka listened.  
    
 “But you also get mad at yourself a lot. You get mad when you don’t know what to do, when you don’t have control. You get mad for reasons. Haru, you’re a pretty… passive person, you know? You being this monster of hate and rage and anger… it’s not who you are.”  
    
 “But…” Haruka looked down. “I feel… so angry…”  
    
 “Yeah, I don’t doubt that.” Makoto took a step forward. “That means there has to be something. There has to be a specific reason you’re angry.”  
    
 Haruka looked to the side. “But then… what is it?”  
    
 “I don’t know… I wish I did.”  
    
 “Me too.”  
    
 “But… do you think you can calm down until you know why you’re angry?”  
    
 Haruka seemed to consider it for a moment before he nodded. The fire disappeared. Neither of them realised how much sound the constant burning was making until it was gone.  
    
 Makoto opened his mouth but a light above caught his attention.  
    
 It felt warm… not like the others.  
    
 It was different.  
    
 The light reached for him.  
    
 Makoto opened his hand and he let the light take it.  
    
 The light formed a person, a child. Only four, it smiled as it lowered itself to the floor.  
    
 Makoto kneeled down and smiled. “Hi.”  
    
 “Hi.” The child smiled. “I’m the last Haru.”  
    
 “Tenderness?”  
    
 “Tenderness. Love…” He nodded. “I have a lot of names. I’m the ability to really care for another person.”  
    
 Makoto smiled. “Will you come with me?”  
    
 “It was scary… when he was angry.” The kid looked at the Haruka at the centre. “But if he promises not to be scary, I’ll come.”  
    
 Makoto looked at Haruka.  
    
 The Haruka of rage nodded once.  
    
 “Well.” Makoto stood up. “We’re all here now, right?”  
    
 The child dissolved into blue light, and so did the Haruka standing at his side. The moved into Makoto’s heart and soon the four below merged into him as well. When he felt the pieces fall into place, Makoto closed his eyes and put a hand to his heart. He moved his hand forward.  
    
 The blue light moved forward.  
    
 The parts came together.  
    
 Donning his robe and mantle of the Iris, Haruka opened his eyes. He looked down for a moment before closing his eyes again. He took a deep breath and it was as if his body lit up.  
    
 Makoto smiled. “Hi.”  
    
 “It’s so…” Haruka felt a tear roll down his face. “Quiet.”  
    
 Makoto pulled out a handkerchief and offered it.  
    
 “I can’t… I can’t remember the last time my mind was so… peaceful.”  
    
 Makoto wiped Haruka’s cheek carefully.  
    
 Haruka smiled and opened his eyes, looking up with a mix of emotions in his eyes. “I can’t… I can’t give you answers. I don’t… I don’t know why I’m angry. And. I don’t know if I love you… I don’t think I do. Maybe. Maybe I do.”  
    
 Makoto swallowed hard. “I don’t know if I love you either, to be honest…”  
    
 Haruka was partially surprised by how unsurprised he was by that statement.  
    
 “You know… I know how much you hate textbook answers, but they say you create an entirely different sense of self every seven years… or something along those lines. We’re not the same people when we met in preschool, and we’re not the same people when I fell in love with you. Maybe we’re just different people now… and I’ll always have you as my best friend, but maybe…”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “We are different people, and I…”  
    
 Makoto tilted his head.  
    
 “I don’t think… I don’t think I can have a real relationship if I don’t know who I am… not at my age. Does that… make sense?”  
    
 “I think so.” Makoto nodded. “There’s the stereotype of the girl who jumps from boyfriend to boyfriend, being co-dependant. Guys do it too, though. In a way, we’re co-dependant… and maybe we don’t have a sense of identity outside our relationship. Maybe we do, though. I don’t think we can find the answer if we don’t do something about it. We’re kind of like… one person, and that’s not right, is it? That’s not healthy.”  
    
 “I think… I want to discover me, discover who I am.” Haruka smiled. “And I want to discover you.”  
    
 Makoto blinked. “Me?”  
    
 “You’re… you’re different. You’re not the crybaby you used to be, the one who was afraid to fight, the kid that would run and hide when he got nervous.”  
    
 “I’m… not?”  
    
 “You don’t like conflict, but you’re not afraid anymore. You’re not afraid to do what you have to do.” Haruka smiled. “When you have someone you want to protect, nothing gets in your way. You’ll fight tooth and nail for it. You’re not a kid. You’re a man now, and one of the strongest witches The Eye has.”  
    
 “Aha.” Makoto scratched his cheek. “I guess that’s kinda true… I always thought I didn’t change much in the past twenty years… but maybe I have. I guess I also need to discover who I am… and I want to discover who you are.”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “And then… when we know who we are… then we can see if… if we’re supposed to be together, or not.”  
    
 “Sounds like a plan, actually.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 “But, even if we don’t fall in love… I’ll be by your side. I’ll be your best friend, because you are so important to me, Haru. You’re not my other half, you’re not my ‘soul mate’ or any of that other bad romance novel stuff… but you are important to me.”  
    
 “Thank you. And you… you, I need you in my life.” Haruka closed his eyes. “But before we can figure this all out.”  
    
 “Right.” Makoto turned to the side. “We have to focus on you right now. There’s still a battle going on outside.”  
    
 “Yeah.” Haruka looked the same way. “I… want to know why I had a Chrysalis inside me.”  
    
 “We’re in your mind, Haru. It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember them, your memories will be in the unconscious. We’ll find them and bring them to the surface.”  
    
 “I’m scared,” he admitted. “But, you’ll be with me?”  
    
 “The entire time. I’m here to stay.”  
    
 “Good.” Haruka smiled. “Let’s find the answers, once and for all.”


	15. Stepping of Stone

 “What?”  
   
 “Ah, your first time huh?” Makoto laughed as the lights began to blur and a new setting was laid out in front of them. “Kind of disorienting, right? It took me a while to get used to.”  
   
 Haruka nodded as the wood and books formed some kind of… library. Office? Haruka looked around. “Where are we?”  
   
 “Your house?” Makoto breathed through his nose. “Smells like it.”  
   
  “Yeah.” Haruka felt a chill run through over his arm. He looked at the desk which had a thin layer of permafrost. “My mom’s office.”  
   
 Makoto blinked and looked around. “I’ve never been in your parents’ study.”  
   
 “Me neither.”  
   
 “Really?”  
   
 “They were… strict about that.” Haruka’s ear twitched and he looked behind him.  
   
 The door opened and a man stepped in. In his hands was a tray, a teapot and a steaming teacup. There was also a small pitcher of milk and a small bowl of sugar with a spoon. He walked to the desk and put it in. “Here you go, darling.”  
   
 Haruka glanced to the desk and his eyes widened.  
   
 A woman that was not there before looked up. “Thank you.”  
   
 “Wow.” Makoto blinked. “I never noticed it before but you really look like her…”  
   
 Haruka’s stayed wide. “I do… She’s, beautiful.”  
   
 “You are too, you know?”  
   
 Haruka scoffed. “Shut up…”  
   
 Makoto laughed and stepped closer. “Why is her… desk frozen?”  
   
 “My mom was… a water elementalist,” Haruka explained. “My grandpa told me once… that she killed her own mother in childbirth, by freezing her to death.”  
   
 Makoto blinked.  
   
 “Not a lot of water elementalists bother with ice… it’s solid, doesn’t flow well, hard to control with spirit essence, but mom…” Haruka’s eyes softened. “It was her gift… I used to, I used to practice my ice arts when I was a kid, but even now still have trouble with them. Unless the ice is already there, like in the artic, I’m useless… but she could make ice out of thin air in the desert.”  
   
 “Whoa…” Makoto rubbed his nose. “Go Mamma Nanase.”  
   
 “Why did I kill her?”  
   
 Makoto paused.  
   
 Haruka eyed the two of them.  
   
 Haruka’s mother, Yuki Nanase, had ice-white eyes and long white hair tied in a ponytail. She drank the steaming tea. Her hands were shaking as she touched the cup. Haruka’s father, Shin Nanase—spelled with the Kanji meaning ‘gentleman’—smiled warmly and poured her another cup. His father had black hair and the blue eyes that Haruka inherited. Although Haruka had gotten his hair and eye colour from his father, in terms of facial structure he was identical to his mother.  
   
 Haruka looked down. “Why…?”  
   
 “So…” Makoto thought back. “Is that why your mom was always cold to touch?”  
   
 “Yeah but she’s…” Haruka’s face distorted and he grunted. “Oh God.”  
   
 “What?”  
   
 “I just… I asked my dad once… he said she was cold, but she was… warm where it counts.”  
   
 “What did he mean by that?”  
   
 Haruka looked at him.  
   
 “Oh!” Makoto’s spine went straight. “Well… that’s good, I guess… otherwise you wouldn’t have been born.”  
   
 “Don’t.” Haruka shook his head. “Just don’t.”  
   
 Makoto scratched the back of his head. “Sorry.”  
   
 Haruka’s lips formed a lopsided smile.  
   
 “So,” Shin said softly. “Do you think this will work?”  
   
 “It better,” Yuki replied as she turned a page. “The runes add up, and our reagents are in perfect balance. The ritual will be taxing, but we are elite witches. If we can’t perform the deed, then no one can. That’s not overconfidence, but fact.”  
   
 “But there’s still the problem of spirit essence.” Shin walked around the desk and analysed the book she was looking at. It was old, rusted, non-digital, although covered in a ritual to conserve its structure. Possibly over a century old. “Even if we had three people, we can’t amount that much energy. Our souls will break if we put them under that kind of pressure. No person can take this ritual, even with our reagents”  
   
 “There is one…” Yuki’s eyes drifted away. “The Japanese origin house was entrusted to the clan of witches with the largest reserve of spirit essence. Within any individual of their bloodline is an incredible storage.”  
   
 “Then…” Shin’s eyes widened. “You plan on asking Hazuki for help?”  
   
 “We may have to.”  
   
 “Well, she’s a hellspawn that one. She’ll love the idea of bringing forth sealed demons.”  
   
 “They’re not demons,” Yuki corrected. “Use the right word.”  
   
 “Fine.” Shin smiled. “Chrysalis.”  
   
 Makoto swallowed hard. “She’s a bit like you.”  
   
 Haruka paled.  
   
 “Do you think Hazuki will work with us, though? She’s calmed down ever since she had those kids.”  
   
 Yuki leaned back in her chair. “I know her kind. She’ll do anything to have the future of her children secured… we use that to our advantage.”  
   
 The image began to blur away.  
   
 Haruka stepped forward. “Wait!”  
   
 Makoto put a hand on his shoulder. “Another one will come.”  
   
 Haruka turned around, cape swirling with the movement. “Hazuki? Chiyo? Chiyo Hazuki is behind this?”  
   
 Makoto looked away. “I don’t know.”  
   
 The setting shifted.  
   
 They were in a home that felt familiar but they didn’t quite understand. Makoto felt something grab his hand and he saw a kid. A boy with red hair and shark teeth looked up at him. Makoto kneeled down. “Rin?”  
   
 Rin smiled. “What’s a Cry-salt-is?”  
   
 “Chrysalis,” Makoto corrected softly.  
   
 “Makoto.” Haruka frowned. “Don’t tell a kid that.” When Makoto just looked at him, Haruka looked away. “Right… this is all in my head…”  
   
 Makoto smiled and turned back to Rin but he was gone. “Huh?”  
   
 A blonde woman bent over. “Come on you two, go to bed.”  
   
 Rin pouted.  
   
 Gou was behind him, hugging a shark stuffed animal.  
   
 “Adults have to talk.”  
   
 “Fine!” Rin yelled and ran to his room.  
   
 Gou followed quickly after.  
   
 “I’m sorry for that.” The blonde woman straightened her back and walked over. “Can I get you two tea or something to drink?”  
   
 “Tea,” Yuki whispered, “Please.”  
   
 Makoto turned to Haruka. “That’s right. Your families were close, right?”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “Ken and Riko.”  
   
 “Huh?”  
   
 “Rin’s dad, Ken Matsuoka…” He pointed to the redhead man of what looked like European descent making tea. “He was an orphan in Australia, adopted by a Japanese couple. They chose the name Ken since it’s a name in both Japanese and Australian culture. He’s a dark shade, was tutoring Sousuke is how they met.” He then pointed to the blonde woman. “Riko Matsuoka… Earth elementalist…” His eyes widened. “She looks, a little like…”  
   
 “Nagisa?” Makoto supplied.  
   
 “I was… going to say Chigusa,” Haruka admitted. “Matsuoka isn’t her maiden name, I’m guessing.”  
   
 “Ah, must be Rin’s grandfather’s, from his dad’s side.”  
   
 “Rin’s dad was raised by two women actually,” Haruka muttered. “But that’s neither here nor there.”  
   
 “Right.” Makoto watched Ken bring a teacup to the island counter of the kitchen.  
   
 “Rin’s gotten bigger,” Yuki said, and her words came out in white puffs of frosty air.  
   
 “Yes he is.” Ken sighed and began to pour into cups. “Still picking fights, though.”  
   
 “It’s a boy thing,” Shin said with a smile. “I used to do it all the time. Haruka picks fights right back.”  
   
 “That Tachibana boy,” Riko spoke softly. “He doesn’t pick many fights. He’s very passive, isn’t he? It must be nice to have Haru around him, that passiveness might rub off on him.”  
   
 “Ugh.” Yuki put a hand to her forehead. “I wish Haru would make other friends.”  
   
 “I do too.” Shin grabbed a teacup and offered it to his wife. “That Tachibana is just like his parents. He has no future in the witching world.”  
   
 “Yes.” Yuki nodded. “They will be the first ones we remove when I am Iris.”  
   
 Haruka stiffened.  
   
 Makoto opened his mouth. “What? What did she just say?”  
   
 “Then…” Ken eyed them carefully. “You’re, you’re really going to go ahead and do it? You’re using your own kid to take The Eye by force?”  
   
 Yuki nodded simply.  
   
 “There are…” Shin sighed. “We are encountering some problems along the way… mostly to do with the spirit essence required for the ritual. Even with the proper reagents and candles and patterns… it’s not something two people can do on their own. We’ll need access to a greater spirit reserve. We’re hoping to have someone with a Hazuki’s stamina help us.”  
   
 Ken scoffed. “Do not drag us into this.”  
   
 “Hm.” Riko put a finger to her chin. “And what’s in it for me?”  
   
 Ken frowned at her.  
   
 “If this works… and you find your way to that forgotten temple, well, not even my mother can stop you. The Eye will be yours. I want a high position. And a future for both of my kids. And their kids.”  
   
 Shin nodded. “Done.”  
   
 Yuki nodded as well, more slowly than her husband. “It will be an honour to work with you. Your blood can also help us locate the Chrysalis Cathedral.”  
   
 “It is my birthright.” Riko smiled. “My older sister was next in line for it, but I took care of her. Her daughter’s still with my mom, but she’ll never know. The Cathedral will be given to Gou. And if Haru is getting the White Chrysalis, we’re giving the Black Chrysalis to Rin.”  
   
 “I like this idea.” Ken crossed his arms. “But the Black Chrysalis is sealed in Nagisa.”  
   
 “So?” Riko’s smile just grew. “We rip it out of her and put it in Rin.”  
   
 “Perfect.” Yuki smiled. “That will also put an end to your sister’s bloodline. When Haruka learns to control the White Chrysalis, the only possible thing that can stop it is the Black Chrysalis. If we have both of them on our side…”  
   
 Shin pulled out a data pad. “Then it’s best we go over the specifics.”  
   
 The four figures blurred away.  
   
 “What…?” Makoto’s eyes narrowed. “What did we just…”  
   
 “Why?” Haruka looked down. “Why do I have these memories?”  
   
 “Huh?”  
   
 “I’m not… I’m not in the room here.” Haruka frowned. “So why do I have their memories? How do I know these things? Why is this in my unconscious?”  
   
 Makoto endured a silence before shaking his head. “I don’t know, but… what did they do to you?”  
   
 Light swirled around them and benches were aligned in rows, a red carpet moved down the aisles and slowly chandeliers were lifted, stained glass windows, and high ceilings.  
   
 Haruka watched as the new setting was constructed. “Where’s this?”  
   
 “The Chrysalis Cathedral,” Makoto stated.  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka looked around. “I’ve never been inside.”  
   
 Makoto looked around. He turned to the door and paused. “Haru.”  
   
 Haruka looked over his shoulder.  
   
 “It’s real!” Riko Matsuoka shouted as she ran down the aisle. “It’s real!”  
   
 Shin followed her at a slower pace. “I can’t believe this…”  
   
 “Be on your guard,” Ken Matsuoka reminded.  
   
 Yuki took her time. She had several layers wrapped around her as she shivered. She walked past Haruka and Makoto before glancing over her shoulder. “Haru.”  
   
 Haruka’s eyes widened. “Yes?”  
   
 Makoto snickered.  
   
 Haruka looked at him.  
   
 “She’s not talking to you.” Makoto pointed to the much younger Haruka at the doorway, looking up at the high ceilings.  
   
 “Haru,” repeated Yuki. “We’re beginning the ritual.”  
   
 The younger Haruka ran over and grabbed his mother’s hand.  
   
 Haruka glanced at his own hand and saw a small layer of permafrost. “It always hurt to be next to my mom… but I knew she loved it.”  
   
 Makoto stared ahead. “That wasn’t there in the present.”  
   
 Haruka looked up.  
   
 Something akin to a treasure chest or a coffin was at the altar. Chains surrounded it.  
   
 Riko raised her hand and vines ripped out of the ground, swirling around the chains. “Here it is…” Her eyes lit up. “The Original Chrysalis.”  
   
 Shin summoned four crystals of spirit essence around him and waved his hands outwards, creating the diagram for the ritual on the ground.  
   
 Little Haruka walked to the centre.  
   
 Riko swiped her hands and the chains broke. “The ultimate weapon…”  
   
 Ken raised his hand and a black cloud hovered above. Slowly, ropes poured out. They looped, like nooses, before bodies appeared and were hung. They all fought to break the cords, some even managed to scream, but Ken paid it no mind.  
   
 “What?” Haruka looked up. “What is that?”  
   
 “A forbidden spirit art.” Makoto examined it. “They use the souls of the living to power a ritual. It also serves enzymatically to reduce the spirit essence required for the witching ritual.”  
   
 From the cloister, a ball of pure white lifted out.  
   
 Riko kneeled down and prayed. Along the ritual’s diagram, flowers began to sprout and bloom.  
   
 Shin turned to Yuki. “You’re up next. With this, we could lead The Eye.”  
   
 “The world,” Yuki corrected. She walked forward and lifted her hands up. Closing her eyes, Makoto and Haruka didn’t have to be told she was whispering the incantation of the ritual in her head, communing to the spirits.  
   
 “Why?” Haruka hugged his arm. “Why are they doing this to me? Why… don’t they… love me?”  
   
 Makoto looked at him.  
   
 “Why does it hurt?” Haruka winced. “Why? Mom… why?”  
   
 “Because,” Yuki spoke softly, “You’re just a stepping stone.”  
   
 Haruka’s eyes widened.  
   
 Flashes of images and ice brought them back to Haruka’s house.  
   
 Yuki created chains of ice around the younger Haruka’s wrists. Little Haruka was screaming, crying, and Yuki kneeled down in front of him. “Do you understand now? You’re just a stepping stone. If you’re not useful, we’ll throw you away.”  
   
   
 The image disappeared and another one came.  
   
   
 “This is…” Makoto looked around. “The Hazuki shrine?”  
   
 “Inside, yeah.” Haruka nodded, then turned around. “What? Chigusa?”  
   
 Makoto turned as well.  
   
 Chigusa’s eyes were wide. “You blasted child! What did you do!?”  
   
 Sitting by her side was Kisumi, glaring.  
   
 Riko stood across them, picking at the dirt under her nails. “Hmph.”  
   
 “Why is…” Haruka eyed Chigusa. “Why is she here?”  
   
 “Oh, right.” Makoto smiled. “That’s Chiyo Hazuki.”  
   
 “What?” Haruka glanced to the side. “Don’t tell me… she, she… used her power as a psion to create an entirely new identity? Even modifying the memories of others to give her status…”  
   
 “Yeah.” Makoto nodded. He was about to say something else, but—  
   
 “Chrysalis!” Chigusa yelled, “You brought the White Chrysalis into reality, and you put it inside this child!” She held the boy, Haruka, sleeping in her lap. “Why? Why!?”  
   
 “Look, the kid’s unstable.” Riko shrugged. “You’re a psion, momma, so do something.”  
   
 Kisumi stood up. “Absolutely not! We’re not helping you!”  
   
 “Yeah, but he’s unstable,” Riko reminded. “You don’t have a choice.”  
   
 Haruka’s eyes narrowed. “Are these the secrets behind the Sorrow Gale?”  
   
 “Maybe,” Makoto said softly. “So… Rin’s mom, killed Nagisa’s mom?”  
   
 Chigusa turned her head and looked right at them. “Who are you?”  
   
 Haruka took a step back.  
   
 Makoto’s eyes widened. “She can see us?”  
   
 “It’s a memory,” Haruka reminded, “And she’s a psion… this is her realm.”  
   
 Makoto blinked. “Wait, you mean… even the memories of psions have the power of a psion in a memory? That’s ridiculous!”  
   
 “Is it?” Chigusa asked. “Does The Eye teach you nothing? Kill a water elementalist in the ocean and you will see a storm unfold. Kill a dark shade in the darkness and you will watch their energy manifest into a creature. We psions abide by the laws you do, but we have our own realm. But that begs the question…” She looked down at the child in her lap. “This is… you?”  
   
 Haruka stepped forward. “Yes. I… I want to know what they did to me… please.”  
   
 “You know of the Sorrow Gale.” Chigusa closed her eyes. “Nagisa’s parents placed the Black Chrysalis inside him. They were making him a tool of war… the idea was given to them by your mother, Yuki Onna. Yuki planned on stealing Nagisa for her own uses, but when Nagisa’s parents were defeated, Yuki attempted to do it herself.”  
   
 “But…” Haruka’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”  
   
 “Because they’re horrible people, maybe.” Chigusa shrugged. “I can’t say… All I know is they weren’t aware of Nagisa’s true nature.”  
   
 “Nagisa’s… true nature?” Makoto blinked. “You mean how he was born a girl?”  
   
 Chigusa shook his head. “No… How he was Chrysalis before the Black Chrysalis.”  
   
 Haruka looked at Makoto. “What do you mean by that?”  
   
 “Eve,” Makoto murmured as he crossed his arm. “He is the Eve.”  
   
 Haruka eyed him. “Adam and Eve?”  
   
 “No, like…” Makoto thought about how it was explained to him. “Like Christmas Eve, or New Years Eve. The night before, the evening before, is the ‘Eve’. Nagisa is some kind of ‘Eve’.”  
   
 Haruka glanced to Chigusa again. “Eve to what?”  
   
 “I would tell you, child, but my knowledge in here is limited to yours.” Chigusa sighed. “I’m sorry. In this memory you and I don’t know each other… but I can sense the warmth you two have for him, even in here.”  
   
 “Then…” Makoto thought about it. “What can you tell us?”  
   
 “My daughter…” Chigusa looked up to Riko. “Killed my other daughter. She laughed as she did it… Nagisa’s mother, I… we had to fight her. We were forced… it was sorrowful, but Riko… Riko enjoyed it.”  
   
 Haruka looked down. “About the Sorrow Gale… you sealed it away?”  
   
 “Kisumi.” Chigusa motioned to him. “My husband, built the construct, the framework. To anyone inside Nagisa’s mind it would appear as a visual of a door, but it’s quite more complicated than that. But yes, I was the one who sealed it shut.”  
   
 “Then…” Haruka eyed her. “What did you do to me?”  
   
 Chigusa closed her eyes and Riko disappeared. “I shall show you.” Runes appeared underneath her and she moved her hands over Haruka’s head.  
   
 Kisumi blurred in front of her. “The preparations are set, to the best we can.”  
   
 “Preparations?” Chigusa looked up.  
   
 “We don’t have time to hide Nagisa. The two beasts will fuse and merge… so I asked Sei to take him past the mountain, behind the graveyard. It should be out of range.”  
   
 “I hope so,” Chigusa whispered. “We don’t have long before they return for their child. I’ll destroy the Chrysalis before then.”  
   
 The door opened.  
   
 Haruka and Makoto turned.  
   
 Rei, much younger, hugged the side of the door. “Where’s Nagisa?”  
   
 Kisumi got up and turned to him. “Rei, go back to bed!”  
   
 “Where’s Nagisa?” Rei asked again. “Where did you take Nagisa?”  
   
 Kisumi put his hands on his shoulder. “Rei, please. Go back to bed.”  
   
 Rei let go of the door and nodded.  
   
 “Kisumi!” Chigusa shouted.  
   
 Kisumi turned.  
   
 Rising from Haruka’s chest was the white sphere. Chigusa winced as she brought it out. “I don’t have… I can’t…”  
   
 From the white orb, a hand lashed out, grabbing Chigusa’s throat and shoving her against a wall.  
   
 Chigusa choked.  
   
 The sphere moved.  
   
 Kisumi summoned a spear, but it was too late—the white orb blurred past him.  
   
 The memory moved, following the white orb, until they made their way to the graveyard which was a distance away from the shrine.  
   
 “This is where…” Haruka looked around. “Where we fought Nagisa’s Chrysalis?”  
   
 Makoto nodded. “There!”  
   
 “Come on, Nagisa!” Seijuro pulled him along. “Hurry!”  
   
 “I’m coming!” a younger Nagisa screamed as he followed.  
   
 The white orb raced towards them.  
   
 Seijuro let go of Nagisa. “Keep going!” He turned around and opened his arms. The white orb pierced his chest. From his back, a light appeared and the hand reached out, trying to grab Nagisa. “Don’t…” Seijuro winced. “You…” He struggled. “Dare!” The hand was forced back and Seijuro breathed.  
   
 Nagisa froze, staring wide-eyed.  
   
 Seijuro took a slow breath. “I…” White fires danced along his skin. “Will use this body, then…” He turned around and crossed the distance, grabbing Nagisa’s throat. “Merge with me… My Eve!”  
   
 Nagisa screamed.  
   
 Haruka glanced to the side.  
   
 A pink spear pierced Seijuro’s chest.  
   
 Seijuro’s eyes widened.  
   
 “I’m sorry,” Kisumi whispered. He pulled the spear out then back flipped over Seijuro. Snatching Nagisa in his arms, he jumped back.  
   
 “Gwanpa!” Nagisa said between hiccups and tears.  
   
 Seijuro opened his hand and out of a burning orange light his axe was summoned. He smashed his weapon in the ground and a ring of orange lights blasted upwards, whirling around him. In the parallax of reality, dull red metal appeared around him, creating glowing armour. With a roar, he pulled his weapon out of the ground, took a stance, then slashed at them.  
   
 On contact Kisumi and Nagisa disappeared in a flash of sakura petals.  
   
 The images blurred again.  
   
 They were back in the shrine.  
   
 “Child,” Chigusa whispered through struggle breathing. “Wake up… please.”  
   
 The younger Haruka opened his eyes. “What… did you… do to me?”  
   
 “You’ll live a normal life now,” Chigusa kept her voice low. “Your parents’ work has been undone.”  
   
 “I’m… useless.” Haruka’s eyes widened. “If I’m not good, they’ll throw me away… Stepping stone. Why? Why did you…?”  
   
 “Please understand.” Chigusa smiled. “You’ll be happier this way, I assure you.”  
   
 “No…” Haruka’s body began to burn with a blue fire. “No! No! I’ll, I’ll! I will ki—” He froze, eyes wide.  
   
 Seijuro slashed his axe through Chigusa’s body, spraying blood everywhere.  
   
 The real Haruka’s eyes widened. “I killed her…”  
   
 With a flash of sakura petals, Kisumi appeared. “Chi!”  
   
 Chigusa’s body laid garroted, slashed open, limp on the floor.  
   
 Seijuro turned around.  
   
 “H-Ha-Hazuki-basama!” Rei screamed.  
   
 “Rei!” Kisumi put Nagisa down. “Take Nagisa and run! Run! Just run, damnit!”  
   
 Seijuro leapt into the air, ready for another swing.  
   
 Kisumi summoned two spears and held them up in an ‘X’, creating a barrier out of barriers.  
   
 When axe hit spear, the image blurred again.  
   
 They were taken to the courtyard of the shrine.  
   
 Haruka looked around. “Why here?”  
   
 Running out of one of the buildings was a younger Rei and Nagisa. They were both screaming and crying, but they ran. Makoto turned his head when he saw a younger Momotarou and Nitori run up to them.  
   
 “Run!” Rei yelled, “Just run!”  
   
 Haruka watched the four of them run past them but the memory didn’t follow. He glanced to the building Rei had come out of.  
   
 One of the walls ripped open as Kisumi rolled along the floors of the courtyard.  
   
 Seijuro was bathed in white fire as he charged out of the building.  
   
 Kisumi got to his feet and summoned a spear. He swung it in a wide arc to keep Seijuro away, but Seijuro swung as well, shattering the pink spear into shards of glass that faded into spirit essence. Seijuro whirled and slashed Kisumi across the chest. It wasn’t as deep as Chiyo’s but the damage was done.  
   
 Kisumi fell on his ass and knew he was done for.  
   
 “Gee.”  
   
 Kisumi looked up.  
   
 “You’re kinda in a pickle, Dad.” Riko broke vines out of the ground and wrapped them around Seijuro’s limbs.  
   
 With a rush of air, the vines froze to ice. Yuki eyed the scene in front of her. “Our work has been undone. But, no matter. It’s a minor setback. We will redo the ritual, and Haruka will be better equipped this time too. We’ll need more sacrifices, but it works to our benefit.”  
   
 The courtyard disappeared.  
   
 Haruka looked straight ahead at nothing.  
   
 Makoto eyed him carefully.  
   
 Golden spheres of light whirled together and they spoke in a familiar voice, “Haruka Nanase.” The lights formed a person with blond hair and pink eyes. “I am not Nagisa, but I’ve taken the appearance of the person you would be most comforted by now.”  
   
 “Nagisa?” Haruka frowned. “Because our pasts are similar?”  
   
 “Because they are opposites,” the lights corrected. “I am a formation of your mind, giving you someone to talk to so that you may make sense of what is happening.”  
   
 “Great.” Haruka eyed him. “I’m talking to myself.”  
   
 The lights smiled. “Finally. I’ve waited years to come out of the unconscious. You are not even aware of the crushing guilt your harbour for the endless murders; and, of course, stealing years away from both Seijuro and Kisumi.”  
   
 “So.” Haruka eyed the lights carefully. “You couldn’t appear to me until I was aware you existed. The headaches, the visions… Nagisa, Nagisa’s return must have triggered you. My own, deeper dark memories… Then, everything that’s been happening to me, it wasn’t Chigusa’s or Seijuro’s doing, but… my own? But, how… I…?” He eyed the ‘person’ in front of him. “And now that you’re here, you’ll fill in the holes… you’ll show me what happens next?”  
   
 “If you wish it.”  
   
 “I do.”  
   
 The lights waved their hands and they moved to Haruka’s old bedroom. The younger Haruka rested on the bed. “You slept for several days, but when you woke up… you were told you had to go through it again. The thought of doing it over again was too much and you, reasonably, threw a tantrum.” The lights waved their hand and the image changed to the first floor of Haruka’s house. “Your rage summoned him.”  
   
 Yuki barely turned around before Seijuro’s axe slipped through her throat; her head thrown aside, from the base of her neck a pillar of ice shot out and formed an icicle on the ceiling. Her body fell on the ground.  
   
 “Yuki!” Shin yelled as he charged Seijuro.  
   
 Seijuro disappeared for a second.  
   
 Shin looked left, looked right.  
   
 Seijuro appeared behind him and sliced down vertically, splitting him in half.  
   
 The image blurred and they moved to the Matsuoka household.  
   
 Gou sat in Riko’s lap. “And Sharky fought all my nightmares away,” she explained.  
   
 Riko smiled.  
   
 Seijuro’s axe cut her head off. Blood sprayed everywhere.  
   
 Gou began screaming.  
   
 Ken gasped from the other side of the room.  
   
 Seijuro threw his axe and it whirled through the kitchen, cutting him in half horizontally.  
   
 Gou kept screaming.  
   
 Seijuro turned to her, but he had no murderous intent in his eyes. He merely dissolved into white fire.  
   
 Gou kept screaming.  
   
 The image in front of them disappeared again.  
   
 Now in the darkness, Haruka fell to his knees. “Why?”  
   
 Makoto’s eyes were wide.  
   
 The lights turned to them. “You have a choice. For Nagisa, they sealed his torment away. He was too young to make the choice on his own, but you’re not. You can ask Chiyo or Ai to do the same for you. No one would think you weak for choosing that.”  
   
 Haruka shook his head. “No.”  
   
 Makoto blinked. “Haru?”  
   
 “This is… me.” Haruka closed his eyes. “And… it is my fault that Seijuro carries the Chrysalis that was made mine… I won’t be able to fix anything without knowing what I know now. Maybe… maybe when this is over… maybe then I’ll have it sealed away in my own Sorrow Gale… but…” He put a hand to his chest. “I choose to keep it.”  
   
 The lights nodded and the image of Nagisa broke apart into four lights that swirled away.  
   
 Haruka stood up. “How did you, get here?”  
   
 Makoto stayed silent for a while. “Oh wait, me?”  
   
 Haruka smiled. “Yes. You.”  
   
 “Ai.” Makoto’s eyes widened. “Ai? Ai? Are you here?”  
   
 Haruka looked around. “He’s either busy or…”  
   
 “Let’s go back,” Makoto muttered. “I think they need us.”  
   
 “Yeah.” Haruka looked at him. “And we have to save Momo, before the Chrysalis Cathedral falls… and everyone in the distortion with it.”


	16. Makoto of Haruka

 The Efreet and the Banshee were both covered in their own blood, but they continued to fight. Even they – loose spirits called forth – realised the gravity of the battle at hand. Rei, like the time in Nazuoka, infused the Efreet with his wind, letting the oxygen in his air give strength to the quelling fires. All the while, he danced with blade in hand. Slicing through the monsters one at a time. He aimed for the throat, beheading another.  
    
 A creature leapt for him.  
    
 Rei looked up.  
    
 Nagisa flipped over him and slashed the beast through the face, shattering it into black fires.  
    
 Further up on the stairs, Sousuke changed the rune of his blade and tossed it like a boomerang; it cut through two before returning to his hand.  
    
 Chigusa, or Chiyo, created cards, cards of whatever she thought of. With her cognition she could create spells of fire, arts of light, weapons of barriers, and blasts of her mind. Whatever she could imagine, she could create. It wasn’t without cost, so she tried to be effective with her spells. She tossed a card in the air and it shattered, turning into a spire of earth that swung horizontally, throwing three of the beasts into the waters below.  
    
 Behind her was Kisumi, cradling Ai in his arms. Nitori had long since passed out when the channeling of the spell was too much. Rin had screamed about it, but Chiyo assured him he would be fine. Kisumi held the grey haired boy closely, looking at him in disbelief. Nagisa, Rei, Ai… they had all grown. They were no longer the kids Kisumi protected.  
    
 Now, they protected him.  
    
 Gou stood behind Kisumi. Anything that passed Rei and Nagisa barely made it passed Sousuke, but nothing slipped by Chigusa. Gou was the last line of defense in case that did happen. She didn’t know what she could do since she had never been trained in combat, but she waited nonetheless. Her eyes widened. “The portals… they’re disappearing!”  
    
 Kisumi looked down. “They are!”  
    
 Above, the Chrysalis roared.  
    
 Gou looked up.  
    
 Rin, riding his phoenix, had been tasked with distracting the monster until Makoto was done. He twisted the reigns of his bird, narrowly dodging a snap of the dragon’s jaws. He crouched low, moving an arm around the phoenixes neck. The phoenix understood and flipped over so it was upside down. Rin, however, stared in disbelief.  
    
 The water was shimmering.  
    
 It was blue again.  
    
 A ray of light crashed against the waters.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 The blue waters began to swirl and twist, creating a storm, a vortex. There, in the eye of the storm, Haruka’s eyes opened. He hovered in midair surrounded by whirling spirit essence. His hair flailed in the wind, cloak fluttering. He opened his eyes. “Makoto.”  
    
 “Mm.” Makoto nodded before opening his eyes. He stood in front of Haruka, looking him in the eyes. “Haru… from here on out, I’ll do my best to be true to you, to understand you.”  
    
 Haruka smiled a real smile, true, bright, warm. “Good… because I need your help.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Rin’s phoenix flipped over again and he stared at the white Chrysalis. It was screaming and screeching, high pitched tones resulting in a psychic howl. Rin felt the wings of his phoenix flutter but he pushed more of his spirit essence into the bird. “Come on, we’re not done yet…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 On the stairs, Nagisa hugged himself, biting his lip as he kneeled over. “Ah!”  
    
 “Nagisa!” Rei dismissed his weapon and grabbed the blond’s shoulders. “Nagisa!”  
    
 “Demons… in my blood…” Nagisa breathed heavily. “It’s calling me…” His eyes watered. “I don’t want to go, Rei-chan!”  
    
 Rei hugged him tight. “You’re not going anywhere, I can assure you this!”  
    
 Chigusa ran down the stairs. “Stay strong, Nagisa. It can’t bring out your Chrysalis if you don’t let it!”  
    
 “I…” Nagisa felt tears run down his face. His whole body felt like it was cracking open. “Define…” His breathing hitched in his quivering throat. “Me.”  
    
 Rei blinked. “Nagisa?”  
    
 Sousuke looked at him and nodded. “That’s right.”  
    
 Nagisa hugged Rei tight. “I don’t know why, Rei-chan… but all I can think right now is… I don’t want it to decide who I am.”  
    
 “Good.” Chigusa smiled. “Fight it.”  
    
 “Um!” Gou ran down the stairs. “Minor problem!” She pointed outwards to the ocean. “Haruka’s summoning again!”  
    
 Sousuke’s eyes widened. “What?”  
    
 Chigusa’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t he learn anything?”  
    
 A caw of a phoenix caught their attention. The bird was dismissed into weak flickers of flames and Rin dropped down from the sky. “It’s okay.”  
    
 Nagisa pulled away from Rei. “Okay? How is that okay?”  
    
 Kisumi carefully walked down the steps, Nitori in his arms. “That’s a good question.”  
    
 Rin eyed the glyphs in the distance. “Yeah, he’s calling forth a deity alright… but that’s not a usual calling. Not only is Makoto with him, but they’re performing a double call. They’ll be fine.”  
    
 Kisumi offered Nitori. “Here.”  
    
 Rin turned and took him in his arms, bridal style. “Hey flower bud.”  
    
 Nitori opened his eyes. “Rin?”  
    
 “Take it easy.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 With a burst of energy Haruka and Makoto launched themselves into the air. They created a blue sphere between them and runes of light sailed over the water’s surface, expanding, exploring, creating runes and glyphs. Water whirled and feathers danced. Haruka and Makoto were on opposite sides, spinning around it, infusing it with everything they had. The sphere began to grow, grow as large as them and then as large as a building. Within the sphere formed two massive bodies, hands holding each other.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “That’s…” Nagisa realised. “Is that Poseidon? Who’s the other one?”  
    
 “Could it be…” Chigusa’s eyes widened. “Amphitrite.”  
    
 Kisumi eyed it carefully. “Poseidon’s wife?”  
    
 “Wait.” Sousuke looked at him. “Poseidon had a wife? I mean I know Zeus has Hera, and Hades… kind of has Persephone… but who the fuck is Amphitrite?”  
    
 “It’s an old tale,” Rei explained, “Some say Amphitrite is the personification of the ocean itself, others believe she is the life inside the ocean. Poseidon fell in love with her beauty and asked for marriage, but Amphitrite declined. When she tried to run away, she saw some dolphins in need of aid… but it was a trap. Poseidon captured her and enslaved her to be his wife.”  
    
 “Wow.” Sousuke winced. “Romantic.”  
    
 “Uh…” Rin stared at them for a while. “That’s not the story I heard…”  
    
 They turned to him.  
    
 “Gods and goddesses are just humans, powerful witches in life, and we can call from the afterlife in death,” Rin reminded. “Like Rei said, some people think Amphitrite is kind of like the ocean itself… but she’s not. She’s like… the goddess of the all the fish and dolphins, all the life and the light inside the water. When Poseidon asked her for a hand in marriage, she declined, yeah, but…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
  “Makoto!”  
    
 “Got it!”  
    
  _“Amphitrite was a boss ass bitch, basically—she didn’t settle for no one, ‘kay? But Poseidon kept trying to court her, not ‘cause of her beauty or anything, but just because all the fish always swam to her. She was this light in his dead waters.”_  
    
 The bubble of water burst and the two gods were released.  
    
  _“It wasn’t that Poseidon stole her… it couldn’t be farther from the truth.”_  
    
 The Chrysalis roared and charged Amphitrite at full speed, but the goddess disappeared into flickers of light when the serpent dragon’s jaw snapped on her. Appearing high above it, she opened her hands and the choirs of angels sang, wings spread from her back, and beams of light thundered down.  
    
 The Chrysalis was hit several times, but that didn’t stop it. It flew at her again. When it opened its mouth to bite her, a wall of water appeared between them.  
    
  _“He gave up.”_  
    
 Poseidon growled.  
    
 The water funnelled into the Chrysalis’ throat, choking it.  
    
  _“It was when Amphitrite found some dolphins that she began to fall in love with the life in the water; not just animals, either, she was a gentle soul you know? Fell in love with plants, seaweed and shit… well okay seaweed’s not a plant but you know what I mean.”_  
    
 “Ready?” Haruka asked, grabbing his guns.  
    
 Makoto nodded as he pulled out his blade. “Yeah!”  
    
  _“Amphitrite fell in love with Poseidon’s kingdom and watched him from afar, being charmed by his control of water. It’s fucking Poseidon, man. He can weave water like an art.”_  
    
 Amphitrite surged behind the beast and grabbed its tail.  
    
 Poseidon’s hand began to glow and he fired a blue beam along its side, opening it up.  
    
  _“The two of them complimented each other. And, somehow, after sunset dinners and spending time together and whatever, they worked. They found comfort in one another.”_  
    
 “Now!” Haruka yelled and threw himself down.  
    
 Makoto did the same “Right behind you.”  
    
 “You always are,” Haruka whispered.  
    
  _“It’s not an amazing story, no bullshit romantics there. They just… they fell in love, fair and square. That’s it.”_  
    
 The two of them surged down to the wound. That was where mind would meet matter, and where they would be able to slip inside the false reality inside the beast.  
    
 The core.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Momotarou was covered in blood, but he kept moving. Dodging another strike from the axe, he collected his energy into his shin and it began to glow orange. He kicked Seijuro’s shoulder and the energy exploded, sending his brother several feet back. Momotarou jumped back, doing a handstand before tossing himself further. After another flip he landed on his feet. He forged another arrow and pulled the bow back.  
    
 Seijuro landed and charged.  
    
 Unlike before, where his arrows were just explosions mimicking Haruka…  
    
 Momotarou fired.  
    
 The arrow became a beam of energy, ripping through Seijuro’s chest and coming out the other side.  
    
 Slim. Precise. Condensed.  
    
 Seijuro stumbled but quickly got up again, resuming his charge.  
    
 Momotarou threw himself to the side, rolling on the ground to dodge the strike. By accident, he let go of his bow and looked up.  
   
 Seijuro brought his axe down on the metal bow—the composite gears shattered in every direction.  
    
 Momotarou’s eyes widened. “No!”  
    
 A rush of water ran over the glass floor.  
    
 Both Seijuro and Momotarou turned.  
    
 It seemed to be coming from the throat?  
    
 Momotarou got up and opened his hand. From a barrier he forged a hunting knife. It wouldn’t do him much, but…  
    
 Seijuro charged again.  
    
 Momotarou sidestepped a vertical swing, then ducked under a horizontal one, but it was a diagonal strike that sliced through his chest. His eyes widened. He saw his own blood in the air and he fell back against the glass.  
    
 Gunshots.  
    
 Seijuro created a barrier as the explosions created a cloud of smoke.  
    
 Momotarou couldn’t see, but two arms picked him up bridal style and he was carried out of the smoke. He looked to Seijuro.  
    
 Haruka jumped over Seijuro’s barrier and slammed his hands on the ground. From between them, a wall of water surged upwards.  
    
 Seijuro barely turned before it tossed him in the air.  
    
 Haruka swiped his arm, cloak fluttering. He eyed Momotarou and relief swirled in his blue eyes.  
    
 Momotarou looked up. “Mako… to?”  
    
 A trident pierced through the walls, tearing open a line.  
    
 “Let’s go!” Haruka yelled. He ran.  
    
 Makoto ran out as well. “Wait, Haru!”  
    
 Haruka jumped through the tear.  
    
 Makoto jumped as well.  
    
 Momotarou closed his eyes as the light blinded him.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Makoto held on to Momo tight as the two of them fell through the air. Makoto closed his eyes, singing his thoughts to the goddess. Amphitrite appeared in front of them and opened her hands. A flourish of white feathers slowed their descent and they landed in her palm with ease. “Thank you,” Makoto said loudly. Amphitrite only seemed amused.  
    
 “You shouldn’t thank a summon,” Haruka muttered.  
    
 “Well!” Makoto pouted. “You shouldn’t throw yourself off platforms!”  
    
 “What does it matter?” Haruka’s lips curved into the smallest of smiles. “You’ll catch me.”  
    
 Amphitrite flew over to the base of the stairs and brought her hands to the platform.  
    
 Haruka leapt off first.  
    
 Makoto jumped off as well and landed, putting Momotarou down. “He needs a medic!”  
    
 “Momo,” Sousuke whispered, eyes wide.  
    
 “Momo!” Kisumi dropped to his knees, hands glowing with purple-pink light. “Momo…”  
    
 Momotarou opened his eyes. This feeling… this essence, he knew this spirit… “Ki…” his eyes widened as he spoke, “Kisu… mi…”  
    
 “Hey!” Sousuke yelled as he dropped next to him. “That’s my job!”  
    
 Kisumi eyed him carefully. “He meant my name.”  
    
 “Ah, uh…” Sousuke stared for a moment. “Momo you idiot!”  
    
 Momotarou reached slowly for his hand.  
    
 Sousuke took it and kissed his knuckles.  
    
 Kisumi watched the display but focused on healing.  
    
 Meanwhile, “Haru-chan!”  
    
 Haruka turned. “Nagisa.” He felt the blond practically crash into him and he hugged him tight. “I’m sorry. I’m better now.”  
    
 Amphitrite flew away to aid her husband.   
   
 “You might be,” Chigusa spoke softly, “But this distortion isn’t…”  
    
 Makoto looked up.  
    
 There were cracks in the sky.  
    
 “Shit…” Rin winced. “It’s breaking…”  
    
 Rei swallowed hard. “What do we do?”  
    
 “Call off Poseidon,” Chigusa ordered. “He’s only causing instability!”  
    
 Haruka shook his head.  
    
 Nagisa blinked and pulled away. “Haru-chan?”  
    
 “Sorry.” He shook Nagisa off then walked passed him, passed Chigusa, and towards the girl with red hair. “Kou.”  
    
 Gou took a step back. “Y-Yes?”  
    
 “You’re a displacer. You can displace yourself, but…” Haruka frowned. “In the case of psions, it’s possible you can displace others.”  
    
 Chigusa turned, eyes wide. “Nanase!”  
    
 “Chigusa,” Makoto spoke softly. “This might be our only choice.”  
    
 Kisumi looked up. “But…”  
    
 “Kou.” Haruka closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. “I know you’re scared, but… All of us can stop Seijuro, but you’re the only one who can do it while keeping this distortion intact.”  
    
 “But!” She tensed. “What if I mess up?”  
    
 “Oy.” Rin put Ai down slowly so he was sitting on the steps. “You won’t.”  
    
 Gou turned to him. “How… how can you be so sure about that?”  
    
 “You’re strong, Sis.” Rin stood up and put a hand on his hip. “You’re the strongest person I know. Look how far you’ve come. If this is another wall life’s putting up in front of you, you’ll find a way over it.”  
    
 Nitori opened his blue eyes. “You’ve been training for this.”  
    
 “Statistically speaking,” Rei offered, “Success is a probable outcome.”  
    
 Nagisa grinned and threw a fist in the air. “Go Gou-chan! Fight-o!”  
    
 Sousuke smiled. “You can do this.”  
    
 Makoto nodded.  
    
 Gou shook her head. “But…”  
    
 “Kou.” Haruka smiled, actually smiled. “Just do your best.”  
    
 “Wh-What?”  
    
 “If it doesn’t work, that’s okay. We’ll find another way. But, for now, just do your best.”  
    
 Gou closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “Okay.”  
    
 Makoto looked up. “Rin, give her a phoenix.”  
    
 Rin shook his head. “I’m spent.”  
    
 “Kou,” Chigusa called out. “I’ll take you there. We’ll do it together.”  
    
 Gou blinked and nodded. “Okay.”  
    
 “Kisumi.”  
    
 Kisumi moved a hand away from Momotarou to tug at the feather-shaped bone necklace. When he tugged it, it snapped off. He tossed it in the air.  
    
 Chigusa raised her hand and the necklace turned into a card. She caught it and turned to Gou. “Ready?”  
    
 Gou nodded. “Yeah.”  
    
 Chigusa turned and ran before jumping off the platform. Gou followed. Chigusa was surrounded with white circles as she held the cards in her hand. “Child, union of Poseidon and Medusa, deity-fiend!” Wind fluttered around her but she didn’t break her focus. “I call you forth—Pegasus!”  
    
 With a flash of light and a neigh, wings sprouted from nothingness.  
    
 Gou opened her eyes to find herself sitting side-saddle behind Chigusa.  
    
 “Kou! When a psion fights another psion, everything is decided in a single moment. When we clash, our minds are engaged in a mental war. You will move into the realm of relativity, conscious fault. An hour of combat will only take a second in the real world. The stronger Psion will win.”  
    
 Gou bit her lip. “How do I win?”  
    
 “Just do what I do—think of everything you have to fight for!” Chigusa steered Pegasus closer. “Think of your brother, think of your new family. Think of everything and let it fuel you! When your mind knows what’s at stake, nothing can stop it!”  
    
 “Right!” Gou yelled. They were right above the Chrysalis. “I’m ready!”  
    
 “Alright.” Chigusa nodded. “I’m proud of you.”  
    
 Gou smiled and kicked off the steed. Wind fluttered her hair and clothes and she eyed the burning white beast that stared up at her. She began to glow in a ruby-pink light as she descended. She closed her eyes and thought.  
    
 It was time.  
    
 She thought of her brother and all he had done for her. She thought of Ai, who had trained her. She thought of Chigusa who guided her. She thought of Haruka who protected her. She thought of Makoto and Sousuke, who always visited her, bringing her gifts and teas from around the world. She thought of Nagisa who always made her smile. She thought of Rei who opened up his home to her. She thought of Kisumi who kept the distortion going. She thought of Seijuro who must have been in incredible pain. She thought of Momo, bleeding and wounded… and the apology she needed to give him  
    
 When she opened her eyes the distance between her and the Chrysalis was near nonexistent. She raised her hand, unaware that her spirit essence was spilling in a spiral storm. She screamed and slammed her hand against the forehead of the White Chrysalis.  
    
 Her eyes widened.  
    
 Reality faded around her.  
    
 An image formed in her mind’s eye.  
    
    
  _Rin slipped into his bed and was about to turn off the lights when the sliding door opened. A red blur bounced on his bed, landed in his lap, and Rin jerked back. “Off.”  
    
 Momotarou pouted.  
    
 Rin frowned. “Off.”  
    
 “Okay okay…” Momotarou scooted off his lap and moved to the edge of his bed. “Could you… explain something to me?”  
    
 “Eh?”  
    
 “Psions…”  
    
 Rin stared.  
    
 “I don’t know much about The Eye,” Momotarou admitted, “And I don’t know anyone who wants to talk about it, but if I’m Ai’s best friend, I should know, right?—I need to help keep him safe, and shit like that.”  
   
 Rin let out a sigh. “Too many heavy topics today.”  
   
 “One more! Please…”  
    
 “Fine.” Rin rubbed his forehead. “Okay, so… psions pretty much go crazy… Um, so like, you know the four sides of magic? There’s elemental, which is fire and water and wind and shit like that, and usually somebody has a specialty, like mine is fire.”  
    
 “Right, yeah. Like Rei.”  
    
 “Mhm, sure, whatever. Anyway, then there’s shade, which is light and dark magic. Usually most of those guys specialise in one and can’t cast the other.”  
    
 “Yeah, I know this. Then there’s support, which is what I am: Shields, restoration, and sensory.”  
   
 “Mhm.” Rin nodded. “The fourth magic type is psionic, or psychic, or whatever. Psions… They’re a really small percentage of witches, pretty much lower than one percent. The problem is…” Rin looked away. “Most of those end up being psychopaths, sociopaths, mass murderers… “  
    
 Momotarou frowned. “But Nitori’s not.”  
   
 “No, he isn’t.” Rin bit his lip. “There’s been a lot of debate of nature versus nurture, those kind of shitty arguments, but no psion has been able to fully control themselves… at least, none The Eye knows of… Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if the High Council was withholding info about it.”  
   
 “But…” Momotarou ran his hands through his hair. “But that’s… so weird. Nitori’s just fine! What if… what if Nitori could help others, though? Like your sister.”_  
    
    
 Her vision moved out of the guest room and moved to the living room where Nitori had tentacles around his throat.  
    
    
  _“But, there’s nothing I can do about that, Aiichiro.” Nagisa looked away. “But, isn’t it funny? You’re going to come to me, and come alone. It will be you versus me. Nana says only a psion can truly fight a Chrysalis, but isn’t that really funny? Can anyone really fight that thing?”  
    
 Nitori pulled away, trying to shake Nagisa off.  
    
 More tentacles shot out of his back and wrapped around Nitori.  
    
 “Nagisa!” Nitori freed his mouth. “Don’t you feel anything?”  
    
 “Ai-chan, you don’t get it.”  
   
 “Rin!” Nitori’s eyes watered. “He was your big brother, and Sousuke! All of your teammates!”  
    
 Nagisa shook his head. “I’m not human anymore. My soul is too damaged to understand emotions or even just guilt. From this curse, I won’t recover. But this way… I forgot what despair feels like, but when I feed on it…” His eyes lit up. “I feel so alive.”  
    
 “But, Nagisa! At what cost?”  
    
 “I know what you mean,” he admitted. “I don’t want to feel alive, Ai. I don’t. I want to die.” Nagisa smiled. “But this is what I am now, a Chrysalis. I feed on all emotions, even my own. I can’t feel anything anymore because I keep eating them. I’m hollow, so that makes me this. I am a harbinger of sorrow, a demon of despair. A Horror Fiend. I can’t be saved, so Ai-chan, please—please don’t hold back.” He let go and drifted away, levitating for a moment before he put his foot on the ground. “When we fight… please, kill me.”_  
    
    
 She never knew how Nagisa had felt… Was that what Seijuro felt now?  
    
    
  _Rin sat on the steps leading out the shrine when another redhead sat next to him. He glanced over to Momotarou, who was looking down at his lap, and nudged him with his shoulder.  
   
 He looked up, eyes filled with concern.  
    
 “Why so glum, chum?”  
    
 Momotarou laughed, shaking his head. “I just have a lot of questions… Um.” He looked at Rin. “Ai told us about your memories, about Nagisa…”  
    
 “Yeah?” Rin wasn’t that surprised. “What’s your question?”  
    
 “Why… Nagisa?” Momotarou hugged his leg. “Chrysalis corruption was probably something pretty common during the Third World War, right? How did Nagisa… give those things, a mind?”  
    
 “Uh, well.” Rin paused, looking to the torii. “I never thought about that. I always figured it was because we were healing him, managed to cleave off some of the corruption… Chrysalis corruption is nasty… he had a lot of damage, everywhere, I remember. His heart failed a couple times, but with the medical and magical help together, he made progress on his recovery. I just figured, since he was more independent, his Chrysalis was too.”  
    
 Momotarou listened, before looking at his feet.  
    
 “What? You don’t buy it?”  
    
 “Not really… I mean, I’m just a dumb kid, don’t know anything about The Eye or Chrysalises… but now I’m starting to wonder if I don’t know anything about Nagisa either.” Momo sighed. “I don’t know, it’s been a tough day… I’m just like emotionally drained, or something… But Nagisa, the more I think about it, the more he’s always been… different.”  
    
 “Different?” Rin cocked his head. “In what way?”  
    
 Momotarou shifted in his seat to face Rin. “I don’t know. Just something about him, was always off… Like he was, special, in some way.”  
    
 “Hm.” Rin poked his tongue against his cheek. “Sousuke mentioned once, that he wanted to give Nagi an I.Q. test.”  
    
 “Yeah! He was always really smart, but like… I don’t know. Just, his magic… it felt different, you know?”  
    
 Rin nodded. “It took the team some time to get used to his spirit essence… I mean it always takes me a couple days, maybe even a week, but took me at least a couple for Nagisa. Whenever Haru made bullets from Nagi’s magic, they were strong as fuck.”  
    
 “Yeah!” Momotarou repeated. “See what I mean? I guess, what I’m trying to ask is, like… was he just above average? Like really, really, above average, or was it because he was… special, in some way?”  
    
 “I dunno, kid.”  
    
 “Ah, right.” Momotarou shifted back to look forward. “Of course you wouldn’t, nobody knows.”  
    
 “I don’t know if Nagisa was ‘special’, but… a lot of us compared him to Haru. Haru holds the record for the highest score on the elemental exams, and Nagisa holds the highest score for the support exams.” Rin’s eyes narrowed. “They have a lot in common, too…”  
    
 “So, if someone made Nanase into a Chrysalis, you think it’ll be like Nagisa?”  
    
 “Heh.” Rin stood up and stretched. “Haruka was better, stronger, faster, and smarter than Nagisa, than everyone. Not only is he older, but it’s been a year since then and he’s got hell of a lot more powerful. If anyone turns Haru into a Chrysalis, we’re done for.”_  
    
    
 These memories weren’t hers—they weren’t Seijuro’s either so, why…?  
    
    
  _“Rinny-Rin! You just can’t take it! Years of suffering, years of pain locked inside you, suppressed and repressed for so long…” Nagisa’s hands squeezed into fists. “And it’s almost mine.”_  
    
 It was the graveyard beyond the shrine she had visited once.  
    
  _“With your despair, my Chrysalis will become unstoppable.” Nagisa grinned. “I originally wanted to use Ai or Rei at first, since their pain seemed intense… but it wasn’t enough. I plagued them in a city full of murders, forced them to watch their hometown become a scrambled mess, but the sorrow just wasn’t enough! I built an invisible suppression aura, so The Eye would think the problem wasn’t as bad as it seemed, so no one would come to help them, so they would feel alone… Although, they did end up noticing it—again, Haru-chan’s fault.”  
    
 “Haru?” Rin frowned. “What?”  
    
 “He didn’t do it on purpose, but four months ago he visited the shrine for a book—Ceremonies of Iza-chan.” Nagisa crossed his arms. “When he was in the city, I had to downplay the suppression aura, lest he find out. When I cranked it back up, Rei noticed the difference. But, still, that only fed their despair further. But, even after all that, it wasn’t enough… their pools of suffering weren’t enough to give me invincibility. But, you.”  
    
 Rin forced himself to sit up, despite the spell pulling him down. “Me?”  
    
 “Your despair… it overshadows my entire year of work!” Nagisa smiled. “Not to say my work was lost, once I have you, Ai-chan will succumb, and soon will Rei-chan, and that will leave Momo-chan all alone… I’m wondering, should I devour him right away, or maybe use him as lure to bring his big brother out of hiding? But it doesn’t matter, I’ll devour everyone eventually… all I need, is your anguish.”_  
    
    
 Why…?   
   
   
 Why did everything have to be about suffering?  
   
   
 “I want…” Gou’s eyes widened, realisation filling them. “To change this world… I want to end the suffering… That, that… is what I’m fighting for.”  
    
   
   
 The memories rushed around her and she soon realised that these memories didn’t belong to any one person, so did that mean there was… some kind of, greater form of consciousness? The memories… of the world? An image flashed before her eyes and it looked like a throne. For whatever reason the words ‘Core of Stars’ came to mind and she thought of the Chrysalis Cathedral, where it all began.  
    
 With a fire burning inside, she closed her eyes and dove into the mind in front of her.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 When Gou opened her eyes, all she could see was white darkness. Her third eye was open and scanning, but there was nothing for a while. She could taste despair on her skin. She put a hand to her heart and closed her eyes. “It’s okay…” She opened them again and looked in front of her to see a man.  
    
 The skin around Seijuro’s eyes cracked outwards.  
    
 “It hurts…” Gou stepped forward. “Doesn’t it?”  
    
 Seijuro nodded slowly.  
    
 “I can’t save you… I’m sorry. But I can send you to where you won’t hurt anyone. Maybe, Seijuro… maybe one day…” She stepped forward. “Maybe one day we’ll find a way to help you.”  
    
 Seijuro cringed, looking away.  
    
 “You feel guilty? You feel… you don’t deserve your life again?”  
    
 Seijuro neither affirmed nor denied.  
    
 But Gou knew it was true. “I forgive you.” She reached out and took his hand.  
    
 Seijuro turned, staring at her, eyes wide.  
    
 Gou chuckled and smiled. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you… so please, don’t blame yourself.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 The Chrysalis froze before it began to glow with the ruby red light that was signature to her. In a moment in time, the Chrysalis shrunk into the size of a human. And that human, disappeared.  
    
 Gou watched the image of Seijuro blast away in front of her and she closed her eyes. “I wish… I could have done more.” She saw the Pegasus below and it caught her.  
    
 “Well done!” Chigusa laughed. “You did it.”  
    
 “Chi…” Gou kept her eyes closed, pressing her forehead against Chigusa’s shoulder. “I’ll become a stronger psion.”  
    
 “I approve, but…” Chigusa blinked. “Where did that come from?”  
    
 “I think I… found something. Learned something.”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Back on the grassy island, the Pegasus returned. Gou was shaking and Makoto held her for a moment before she could stand on her feet again. Makoto smiled. “That was amazing, Kou!”  
    
 “No.” Gou shook her head. “It was easy. I think he let me win.”  
    
 Kisumi, now standing several feet away from Momotarou who was no longer in critical condition, put a hand to his chin. “Then there really is some humanity left in him.”  
    
 Haruka looked at his hand. “I’ll… find a way to save him.” His hand turned into a fist. “I owe him that much.”  
    
 “Yeah.” Makoto smiled. “Together.”  
    
 Haruka looked up. “That was implied.”  
    
 Makoto grinned, and Haruka graced him with a rare smile.  
    
 Lights began to merge together and new portals opened.  
    
 Rei summoned his blade, but paused. The portals were white and gentle on the eyes. Through the ovals he could see images of the shrines. “This is…”  
    
 “We.” Nitori looked up. “Can go home.”  
    
 “Holy shit.” Rin ran a hand through his hair. “Well fuck, we actually did it.”  
    
 “Yay!” Nagisa threw both hands in the air. “Let’s get a bunch of take-out food to celebrate!”  
    
 Rei just stared at him. “Don’t ever change…”  
    
 Sousuke laughed.  
    
 Haruka relaxed, shaking his head.  
    
 Makoto nudged him. “Some things really never change, huh?”  
    
 “Mm.” Haruka nodded. “Even if you want them to.”  
    
 “Ack!” Nagisa winced. “What’s that supposed to mean, Haru-chan?”  
    
 Gou laughed then turned to the stairs. “Chigusa, let’s go!”  
    
 Chigusa stood several steps above everyone else.  
    
 Gou looked at her.  
    
 Chigusa closed her eyes.  
    
 “Wh… what? Chi…”  
    
 Slowly, Chigusa shook her head.  
    
 Gou’s smile faded.  
    
 “Kou.” She opened her eyes again. “I don’t belong in the world of the living.”  
    
 Kisumi appeared behind her. “Chi.”  
    
 Chigusa turned to him. “We’ve caused a lot of problems… and I can’t honestly leave it to you to fix up this cathedral, can I?” When Kisumi snorted, she smiled and turned back to them. “I have to stay here.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 Makoto smiled. “Thank you.”  
    
 “But!” Rei’s eyes widened. “We just found you…”  
    
 “But granny…” Nagisa’s lower lip wibbled. “Granpa…”  
    
 “But…” Gou’s eyes widened and she frowned. “How! You were teaching me so much! How am I supposed to keep going? Why? Do you expect me to learn how to be a better psion without you?”  
    
 “Of course.” She smiled. “I’m the strongest psion there ever was and my blood is in your veins.”  
    
 Gou’s eyes softened before widening slowly.  
    
 “Wait.” Rin frowned. “What?”  
    
 Nagisa stared at Rin for a moment. “Huh?”  
    
 “Your mother, Riko Shigino, was the sister of Nagisa’s mother.”  
    
 Rin stared at her. “Chiyo…”  
    
 Chigusa laughed. “There was a reason I came to you, Rin, when you called for help… and, now, you Kou. I came to your aid as well.”  
    
 Gou’s eyes softened. “Chi…”  
    
 “No!” Nagisa screamed. “That’s too weird!” He shoved his hands in his hair then turned around, squatting down. “I’ve masturbated thinking about my cousin! Ew!”  
    
 “Ack!” Rin backed away. “Don’t fucking tell me that!”  
    
 “Ewww!” Nagisa bounced up and grabbed Rei’s hand. “Rei, we have to cancel our four way and wife-swap sex plans!”  
    
 “I never agreed!” Rei screeched, “I specifically said no!”  
    
 Nitori just sighed. “Oh Nagisa…”  
    
 Makoto scratched the back of his head. “Oh geez…”  
    
 Haruka glanced to the side. Sousuke was quiet, with Momotarou silent in his arms. When Haruka looked forward again, he noted Chigusa noticed it too.  
    
 “Hey.” Kisumi motioned forward with a nudge of his chin. “The portals won’t stay open forever.”  
    
 Sousuke lifted Momotarou up. “Let’s go.”  
    
 Rei looked up. “Hazuki-basama…”  
    
 “Granny, grandpa…” Nagisa’s eyes watered.  
    
 “Sensei…” Nitori smiled. “Kisumi…”  
    
 “Don’t be sad.” Chigusa smiled. “Take care of yourselves and each other.”  
    
 Gou’s breathing became harsh and she pulled the moon-shaped hair clip from her hair. She ran up the steps and offered it. “Take this!”  
    
 Chigusa blinked. “But that’s your gift.”  
    
 “Take it!” Gou thrust it forward. “Take it so you don’t forget about me!”  
    
 Chigusa eyed the hair clip then Gou. She tilted her head ever so softly. “How… could I ever forget about you?”  
    
 Gou’s eyes widened.  
    
 Chigusa took the hair clip then gently put it back in Gou’s hair. “This thing is gorgeous, and it was kind of expensive, you know? People need to see it. No one will see it here.”  
    
 Gou smiled. “Can we… visit?”  
    
 Chigusa took a deep breath and shook her head. “That wouldn’t be a good idea… but this isn’t the last time we’ll see each other.”  
    
 Kisumi stepped down a couple steps. “Time doesn’t pass here like it does outside.” He unclipped his necklace and put it around Gou’s neck, clipping the ends together to form a circle. “We’ll be those grandparents who complain if you don’t call.”  
    
 Gou put a hand to the feather-shaped bone pendant. She felt the Pegasus inside it and her eyes widened. “What?”  
    
 “It’s a powerful creature.” Kisumi smiled. “Your whole life… I’ve done absolutely nothing for you. Let this creature and his spirit arts be yours. Should a time ever come, let him protect you. I’m sorry.”  
    
 Gou’s eyes brimmed with tears.  
    
 Kisumi leaned over and kissed her forehead, easing the third eye. “I wish I could do more…”  
    
 Gou shook her head. Not trusting herself with words, she hugged him tight.  
    
 Kisumi’s eyes widened and he hugged her slowly. “Thank you… for letting me be your grandfather…”  
    
 Gou just smiled and pulled away. She turned to Chigusa.  
    
 “We…” Chigusa looked away. “We did everything for our kids… but they turned out to be selfish and power hungry. I don’t know if we deserve it after everything, but we have three grandchildren that warm my heart. How you three found each other, and how you three found a family… It was all I could ever hope for.”  
    
 Gou hugged her too.  
    
 Chigusa squeezed her tight.  
    
 After a long moment, Gou stepped away. She knew she was hogging them so she backed away.  
    
 Nagisa charged, practically tackle-hugging them both at the same time. “I’m gonna miss you two!”  
    
 Chigusa and Kisumi both laughed and held him tight.  
    
 Nagisa’s eyes watered. “I felt… so guilty…”  
    
 The laughter stopped.  
    
 Nagisa backed away. “So… if you’re here and you have the chance to be happy again, even if it’s not in reality, be happy and make each other laugh. And you’re both not old anymore so your hips work so have lots of sex, but don’t get pregnant granny!”  
    
 Chigusa opened her mouth to speak but she didn’t know what to say.  
    
 “Nagisa!” Rei yelled.  
    
 Haruka hid his laugh in a scoff. “You can’t conceive a child in a distortion.”  
    
 “Huh?” Nagisa turned around.  
    
 “Nothing grows, nothing ages.” Haruka shrugged. “You don’t have to eat or sleep or anything.”  
    
 “Oh!” Nagisa tapped his forehead. “We could make a killing if we sold this as a form of birth control!”  
    
 Rei put both hands over his face.  
    
 Nagisa turned back to the two of them. “Oh… and Rei-chan and I are together now. So that makes him a part of the Hazuki clan… The two of us are going to be the co-leaders of the Mahō… um… if we…” He looked to the ground. “Have… your, blessing?”  
    
 Chigusa laughed. “Of course, my dear.”  
    
 Kisumi crossed his arms. “Protect him, Rei.”  
    
 “Yes Sir!” Rei put a hand over his heart and bowed.  
    
 “Okay okay.” Nagisa ran down the stairs. “I’m good.”  
    
 Rin looked at Ai. “Want to say bye?”  
    
 Nitori nodded and stepped forward. “Sensei…”  
    
 Chigusa smiled. “Thank you, for looking after my granddaughter and my grandson. Although, if you don’t keep with your training, Gou’s going to be a stronger psion than you are.”  
    
 Nitori’s spine went straight.  
    
 Kisumi laughed.  
    
 “I’m teasing,” Chigusa assured. “But thank you, for never giving up. Not on Nagisa, and not on Makoto.”  
    
 “It was Rin,” Nitori admitted. “He was the one who gave me the power to find my own power.”  
    
 Rin looked up and shrugged.  
    
 Chigusa eyed him carefully.  
    
 “You know…” Rin stepped forward. “I knew there was something really off about the way you spoke to me. Yeah, you were pissed that Nagisa’s sacrifice broke us apart… but there was something a lot more to that. Even now, I felt like you hated my guts the second we met.”  
    
 “I did, more than anything… I was blind, by my hate for your mother, and your parents. I thought of you as nothing but a spawn of them… and for that.” Chigusa closed her eyes and dipped her head. “I’m sorry.”  
    
 “No way.” Rin shook his head. “I’m pretty sure my first thought of you was some old-ass useless hag.”  
    
 Kisumi snorted.  
   
 Chigusa elbowed him in the rib.  
    
 Rin chuckled. “So guess that makes us even.”  
    
 Chigusa smiled.  
    
 “Rin,” whispered Gou.  
    
 Rin laughed. “But um, thanks.”  
    
 Chigusa and Kisumi looked at them and then their eyes both seemed to drift to Momotarou in Sousuke’s arms.  
    
 Sousuke looked down. “Do you want to say anything?”  
    
 “I want…” Momotarou closed his eyes. “To go home…”  
    
 Sousuke’s eyes softened. “Alright.” He looked up at them and gave a nod before he turned around. He walked through the portal.  
    
 “Rei-chan.” Nagisa wiped his eyes. “Let’s go before I cry.”  
    
 “You’re already crying…” Rei took his hand and let him through.  
    
 Gou smiled before turning and walking as well.  
    
 Nitori stayed for a little longer, but he left as well, Rin following just behind.  
    
 Makoto looked at the only three left. “Haru?”  
    
 Haruka looked up. “The Eye…”  
    
 “I’ll take care of it.” Chigusa crossed her arms. “You’ll receive a data file in a few days that will explain what needs to be explained.”  
    
 Haruka bowed. “Thank you… both of you.”  
    
 Kisumi’s eyes softened. “Don’t thank us.”  
    
 “But…” Haruka looked up. “It’s because of me, Chiyo…”  
    
 “Forget that. That was years ago, and it wasn’t your fault.” Kisumi shrugged. “If you’re upset with the way things turned out, then just pay us back by taking care of our grandchildren.”  
    
 Chigusa looked away. “And Momotarou.”  
    
 Haruka nodded. “I promise.”  
    
 Makoto smiled. “Come on, Haru. Let’s go.”  
    
 Haruka turned to him and nodded.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 In pathways between visible light, the two of them were quite a distance away from everyone else.  
    
 “Hey, Haru.”  
    
 Haruka glanced to the side. “Yes?”  
    
 “I thought I was going to lose you.” Makoto smiled. “Thank you… for trusting me.”  
    
 “You… idiot.”  
    
 “Huh?”  
    
 “Nothing.” Haruka smiled.  
    
 And Makoto smiled too.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 Kisumi took a deep breath and looked at the Chrysalis Cathedral. “How the hell are we going to rebuild all of this?”  
    
 “We have the time,” Chigusa pointed out.  
    
 “You sure about all this, though?” Kisumi eyed her. “The portals will be open a little longer if you want to join them.”  
    
 “And leave you alone?”  
    
 “I would never blame you.”  
    
 Chigusa stayed silent for a moment, considering it.  
    
 “Go.”  
    
 “And leave this place to you?” Chigusa shook her head. She skipped over the large missing section of the stairs, where the White Chrysalis had devoured Momotarou. “This cathedral is my birth right… and, of course…”  
    
 “That’s right.” Kisumi looked at the building one more time. “Nagisa…”  
    
 “Exactly. When he really learns what a Chrysalis actually is… Nagisa will return to take his throne at the Core of Stars.”


	17. Rest of Respite

 Sousuke watched through the glass window. He eyed the sleeping figure in the hospital bed. He saw the way the chest rose and fell, rose and fell. It brought him no comfort. His shoulders were tight and his hands were in fists. Through the glass he could hear the muted beeps. He closed his eyes. He could feel the spirit essence through the barrier; he knew everything would be okay, but… Sousuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Was this what it was like… for you?”  
    
 “You have hope.” Rei stood by his side, arms crossed. “He will recover.”  
    
 “Hm.”  
    
 “I’m not sure I understand what happened, though. Momotarou was fine, was he not?”  
    
 “Distortion difference. Between where the cathedral was, reality, and the central nerve… His body was weak so when it went through the differences… it put his body into shock.”  
    
 “Hm.” Rei’s chest tightened. “Your old teacher, Miss Amakata? She said he’ll be fine with some rest.”  
    
 “Yeah.” Sousuke sighed. “It’s not that I doubt her, it’s just… logic, doesn’t really make me feel any better right now.”  
    
 “Hm.” Rei smiled. “You’re a gentle soul, aren’t you?”  
    
 “Hm.”  
    
 “Despite your rough exterior?”  
    
 “Are you any different?”  
    
 “No.” Rei’s smile didn’t falter. “I suppose not.”  
    
 Sousuke watched Momotarou for another moment before turning around. He leaned on the glass and forced himself to look away. “How’s The Eye? I heard it was under attack.”  
    
 “No casualties.” Rei nodded. “The elite defense teams eliminated the monsters until we destroyed the source. There was some fear of Kou going missing, but Nanase has managed to subside the fear it seems.”  
    
 “He did?”  
    
 ‘Yes. In technicality, Kou displaced herself to Aiichiro and Haruka—her caretakers. From what he’s told me, the two councils are understanding. Kou is recovering very well. She exerted more spirit essence in one spell than she probably had in her entire life. It was a bit of a shock to her system as well, but she’s fine now.”  
    
 “Good.” Sousuke smiled. “What about Ai? And Rin?”  
    
 “They’re both fine. Ai’s… been a little odd, but he has Rin with him. I am not worried.”  
    
 “Nagisa?”  
    
 “Ah…” Rei paused for a moment. “I… don’t know. He’s the type smiles even when he’s not happy. Even if I’ve known him for twenty years, when he really tries… even I can barely tell the difference.”  
    
 “Is it… because of Chiyo?”  
    
 “I don’t know what it is.” Rei swallowed hard. “Between Chiyo and Kisumi, discovering Rin and Gou are his cousins, the uncertainty of the Chrysalis…” Rei’s eyes drifted sidelong. “You know something about that, don’t you?”  
    
 “Hm.” Sousuke met his eyes for a moment and he nodded. “For a time… I was like Seijuro. It may not have been my Chrysalis, but I was the Black Chrysalis. I haven’t really been able to make sense of it all… but with labels to put to the differences… I’m trying to figure it out.”  
    
 “I wish to protect Nagisa. I don’t think I can do such a thing if I don’t know what you know.”  
    
 “Nagisa’s Chrysalis won’t go away, ever.” Sousuke looked at the floor. “There are secrets locked behind doors…”  
    
 Rei’s eyes narrowed.  
    
 “He’ll be fine as long as we’re by his side, Rei.”  
    
 “I suppose… With everything he has learned in the past while, I’m sure he’ll just need some time by himself to think and to work it out in his head. There was also the flash fire in the Amazon, near where one of his old friends used to live… It’s been a lot for him to just… take in.”  
    
 Sousuke nodded. “How are Haru and Makoto?”  
    
 “Well…”  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Home,” Haruka whispered.  
    
 “Yeah.” Makoto put his blade against the wall. “Finally.”  
    
 “Mm.” Haruka nodded and stepped in, listening to the ocean waves outside. “Yeah.”  
    
 Makoto followed him, but paused.  
    
 Haruka wobbled. He closed his eyes and his legs shook. He lost his footing. He fell over.  
    
 Makoto caught him. “Hey now, take it easy…”  
    
 Haruka opened his eyes. “I wish I could.”  
    
 “Take tomorrow off… stay home.”  
    
 “I can’t.”  
    
 “Please.”  
    
 Haruka stood upright again. “Okay.” He walked to the kitchen and looked around. Everything was just as they left it. He sat on a chair and closed his eyes.  
    
 Makoto put a hand on Haru’s shoulder then let it slip off as he walked to the counter. He added water to the kettle and then turned it on. He opened a tin of loose leaf tea and began to fill a filter. “It feels like forever since we’ve just… been in the same room together, not doing anything.”  
    
 “Other than sleeping,” Haruka muttered, “Yeah.”  
    
 Makoto poured the hot water from the kettle to the teapot, moving his head back to dodge the steam. He added the tea bag and set a timer. “So, any thoughts on us…?”  
    
 Haruka opened his mouth to talk but his eyes caught sight of something. “Hey… missed me, huh?”  
    
 Makoto turned around. “What?”  
    
 Tuna, the kitten, had jumped in Haruka’s lap and Haruka brought the kitten up to nuzzle the top of her head. He remembered Makoto asked him a question and he looked up. “Sorry?”  
    
 Makoto closed his eyes and chuckled as he smiled. “I asked if you had any thoughts about… us… you, me?”  
    
 Salmon also jumped into Haruka’s lap and Haruka hugged him tight too. “I don’t know… A part of me… a part of me feels like now that I can think, I know I want you around. I want you… a part of me just wants you, wants your arms around me, wants you to kiss me, like… like we used to. You know, when there was actual romance between us…”  
    
 Makoto looked back at the glass teapot and noted the change in colour of the hot water. “And another part of you doesn’t?”  
    
 “It’s not that…” Haruka sensed both kittens had enough and he loosened his hold on them. They both jumped on the table in front of him. “I just… I don’t know. I want to know myself, and know you… and I don’t want to have any doubts. What… do you want?”  
    
 “To be with you.” Makoto turned around again. “I’m just… I’m scared, really. I’m scared… Yeah, that’s the word for it, I guess, Haru. I’m scared of hurting you again.”  
    
 “Hurting…” Haruka’s eyes widened. “Me?”  
    
 “I… I didn’t help you. I thought I was, but I just made it worse. I supressed your emotions, invalidated your feelings… I thought I knew you. I thought I knew how you felt. I thought because we’ve been together that I can just predict you… and that’s sort of what we became—one person—predicting each other, but… I never… Do you know how _dangerous_ that is? To trust yourself to know someone else’s feelings without them ever telling you? Without asking for confirmation? I just…” His hands formed fists. “I hurt you!”  
    
 “N-No!” Haruka shook his head. “No… you’ve… you’ve done nothing but support me…”  
    
 “But!” Makoto stepped forward. “If I had known!”  
    
 “I should have told you!” Haruka raised his voice, “You only did what I taught you to do!”  
    
 “Haruka, don’t you dare take the blame off me!”  
    
 “Stop putting it on yourself!”  
    
 “But! I!”  
    
  _Ding._  
    
 Makoto turned to see the timer go off for the tea. He stared at it for a long moment before he pulled the teabag out then shook it a bit to get the last few drops out. He put it on a metal saucer and sighed.  
    
 Haruka noticed Salmon and Tuna pressed up against each other and he pulled both of them back into his arms. He kissed them gently. “Sorry… we won’t fight.”  
    
 Makoto poured two cups of black tea, a little milk for Haru’s with no sugar, and practically half milk and a couple spoons of sugar for himself. He took both mugs and turned around. “Here.”  
    
 “Thanks.” Haruka offered Salmon in trade for a mug and with some maneuvering they managed to make the switch.  
    
 Makoto hugged Salmon gently and took a seat next to Haruka.  
    
 Haruka drank his tea and put it on the table gently.  
    
 Makoto sipped his as well, doing the same. “I love you.”  
    
 Haruka looked at him.  
    
 “I know we’re supposed to take this slow and find ourselves, but I know this much is true. With the chaos gone, with my feelings out in the open, it just… it makes so much sense. I love you. The thought of not living here with you is upsetting me. I can’t hide that.” He turned to Haruka. “We need to be more open with each other. And if we have to be open then I have to tell you I love you. And… it’s okay if you can’t say it back right now.”  
    
 “I love you.”  
    
 Makoto paused.  
    
 Haruka’s eyes had a layer of moisture on them, but he smiled with soft eyes. “I love you.”  
    
 Makoto stared.  
    
 “Maybe… maybe I’m not… completely independent and maybe we’re not independent… Maybe we lean on each other and are, somewhat codependent, but… I don’t think that’s unhealthy.”  
    
 “It’s not?”  
    
 “Well… nobody can live alone, right? I… I try so hard to do everything alone… but at the end of the day, you helped me summon Poseidon, Ai helped you save me, Kisumi healed Momotarou… and everyone paved the way for Kou to save the distortion. I can’t do everything alone… and I can’t solve everything by pointing my gun at things and demanding control… So, maybe I am codependent… maybe I need your help. Maybe I need you to make sure I don’t stray from what I’ve learned… So maybe I need your help… I should be allowed, right, if the world is on my shoulders?”  
    
 Makoto’s forehead had creases and he didn’t seem quite as convinced.  
    
 “No?”  
    
 “Codependency isn’t healthy.”  
    
 “Which part, though? We have to depend on each other. People have to. I need you… Everyone needs someone else every once in a while… At… at what point does that become unhealthy?”  
    
 “That’s…” Makoto let Salmon slip out of his arms. “That’s kind of a big question.”  
    
 “Well… you’re the textbook, right?”  
    
 Makoto laughed. “Well… I guess it’s unhealthy when there are unhealthy elements. Enabling, for one. I enabled you to suppress your emotions – and maybe it wasn’t my fault, maybe it was—but I _did_ enable you. And I was becoming passive aggressive, developing negative habits and traits…”  
    
 “So… I guess if we…” Haruka let Tuna go and Salmon pounced in his lap. He pet the cat softly. “I guess if we… try to be as good to each other as we can be…”  
    
 “And as open as we can be.”  
    
 “That…” Haruka winced. “Won’t be easy.”  
    
 “A lot easier said than done,” Makoto admitted. He grabbed his tea and drank slowly. He smiled. He put the mug down again and looked out the window to the ocean. “We’ll try, though. Because I’d rather be with you and be happy than just give up.”  
    
 Haruka nodded.  
    
 Makoto leaned towards him.  
    
 Haruka turned his head and closed his eyes as their lips met. With no sight, he could hear the movement of ocean waves and smell the salty breeze, but those mattered little to him. He could taste sweet tea and it made him smile against those soft lips. Makoto’s lips had always been soft. But the kiss ended too soon.  
    
 Makoto pulled away, smiling. He opened his eyes.  
    
 Haruka also opened his eyes, but slowly. He had a neutral expression and didn’t bother looking anywhere.  
    
 Makoto paused. “Haru?”  
    
 “I…” Haruka blinked once, twice. “That was our first kiss… in a really long time.”  
    
 “Yeah.” Makoto smiled. “Was it okay?”  
    
 “Perfect,” Haruka admitted, and then felt his cheeks warm from realising what he said. “I just… I always thought… Kisses were dumb, you know? In the movies, the right kiss magically gives you all the answers; you kiss and you know it’s love. Bullshit… I never, I never believed it but…”  
    
 “But?”  
    
 “One more time…”  
    
 Makoto’s eyes widened and he smiled wider. He closed his eyes and leaned in again.  
    
 Haruka pressed their lips together. It was soft and slow, gentle. Haruka leaned in again.  
    
 Salmon started getting squished and he jumped out of the chair, meeting Tuna on the floor.  
    
 Haruka slipped a hand in Makoto’s hair, feeling something warm flutter inside him. He broke the kiss and opened his eyes. “Love you.”  
    
 “R…” Makoto’s cheeks warmed pink. “Really?”  
    
 “I love you.” Haruka nodded. “I… never say it enough. I never say it… to the point where I let you doubt me… to the point where I doubted it myself… But, when all the noise is gone, when it’s just… when it’s just you and me… it’s so easy to say. I… I love you.”  
    
 Makoto’s eyes were verging on tears as he took a deep breath. “I will be the best partner, ever! I promise! I promise!”  
    
 Haruka stared at him before actually laughing. “Just… be yourself… please.”  
    
 Makoto leaned in and kissed him again.  
    
 Haruka smiled into the kiss.  
    
    
 ~ ~ ~  
    
    
 “Can’t sleep?”  
    
 “Hm.” Nitori didn’t bother looking over his shoulder as he poured himself a glass of water. “Yeah, nah…”  
    
 “Yeah, nah?” Rin hooped his arms around Ai’s waist. “Or nah, yeah?”  
    
 “Huh?” Nitori blinked.  
    
 “Aussie slang, forget about it.” He kissed the side of Nitori’s head. “What’s bugging you flower bud?”  
    
 Nitori smiled at the nickname and kissed Rin’s jaw. “I just… have so many questions, about…”  
    
 “About?”  
    
 “I just… When I sent Makoto into Haruka… the spell was so strong, it felt like, it felt like I was using all of my mind…” Nitori looked away. “In some ways, I think I opened my mind, expanded it. I can just… I can remember things easier. I think I understand the different systems of my mind… as ridiculous as that sounds, but I just. Because of that, well, some memories came up and… Rin, do you… do you remember, in the Sorrow Gale… that Nagisa, he said Chiyo Hazuki wasn’t his blood relative…?”  
    
 Rin blinked.  
    
 “So, does that mean you’re not actually his cousin?”  
    
 “Shit…” Rin pulled away, eyes wide. “I didn’t even…” He tapped his pockets, found his phone, and pulled it out. “But I think so. Here. Wait no that’s your dickpics. Here.”  
    
 Nitori looked at Rin’s phone and his eyes widened. “Whoa. Who’s that?”  
    
 “My mom.” Rin smiled. “She looks a lot like Nagisa… It never occurred to me before, but I mean… there aren’t many natural blonde Japanese people, right? It’s not that common, just genetically.”  
    
 “Yeah…” Nitori’s eyes softened. “That just, gives me more questions…”  
    
 “Does it matter, though?”  
    
 Nitori looked up.  
    
 “We’re safe. We have each other.” Rin smiled. “And even if there’s genetics or not, Nagisa’s my family… that’s something I already knew.”  
    
 Nitori cupped Rin’s face and hopped up to kiss his cheek.  
    
 “So don’t overthink it, okay? You’ve gotten stronger, yeah, your mind has too. But that’s over. We’re safe.” Rin snickered. “And well, with that settled… you know what we should do?”  
    
 “Hm?”  
    
 “Haruka kinda interrupted us last time we had a game so…”  
    
 Nitori smirked. “I’ll get the candles…”  
    
 “I’ll get the ropes,” Rin whispered.  
    
 “And the blindfolds too.”  
    
 “I love you!”  
    
 “Love you too,” Nitori said in a playful purr.


	18. Makoto and Haruka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter~ Here we go! Just wanted to say a mega thank you for reading and all the amazing comments and kudos and Q.Q you guys are fantastic. I've learned so much writing this, I've had so much fun writing this, and my only wish is that you enjoyed reading this. But, anyway: Enjoy the last chap!
> 
> * * *

 Makoto snuggled deeper into the sheets. Despite Haruka’s alarm going off, he curled in the fetal position and shivered. Why was it cold? It was late December, summer in their hemisphere. He peeked one eye open and noticed the room was dark. The sun always shined through the window every morning, so… He heard the soft sound of rain and smiled. As much as he hated standing in rain, rain always made the island smell… clean. Nice. He glanced to Haruka’s side of the bed and found it empty.  
   
 Haruka must have already left.  
   
 He reached out.  
   
 His hand ran over the area to find it warm.  
   
 Probably just gotten up.  
   
 He closed his eyes and took in the scent of Haruk—  
   
 Coffee.  
   
 He could smell coffee.  
   
 Makoto lifted his upper body and grabbed Haruka’s phone, silencing the alarm. He could hear… noises in the kitchen? Makoto blinked. He slipped out of bed and tugged off his boxers. He put Haruka’s phone down and walked to the bathroom. Putting his hand against the wall, shower at the end of the room began spraying hot water. Unlike Haruka, he preferred showers. He opened the glass shower door and stepped in. Dunking his head under the hot water, it poured over his aching muscles.  
   
 Green eyes closed.  
   
 He breathed in the steam. After scrubbing with soap and lathering with shampoo and conditioner, and rinsing of course, he twisted the knob, shutting off the running water. When he opened the foggy shower door again, he paused.  
   
 “Here.”  
   
 Makoto blinked.  
   
 Haruka offered a blue towel.  
   
 Makoto blinked again before taking it. It was nice and warm. He leaned over and kissed Haruka’s cheek. “You didn’t have to.”  
   
 “Wanted to,” he muttered. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”  
   
 Makoto paused. “Breakfast?”  
   
 Haruka let a small smile form on his lips as he walked away.  
   
 Makoto chuckled and quickly got to drying himself. It took a while to dry his hair but eventually he glanced at his reflection. He smiled. He turned away and headed into their bedroom. He grabbed a clean pair of black boxers and slipped them on. He went with a sleeveless orange shirt and then a pair of jeans. He ran a hand through his damp hair, grabbed his phone and wallet, and then headed to the kitchen.  
   
  Haruka was indeed cooking; in fact, he was just putting something from the pan onto two plates.  
   
 Makoto grinned and took a seat. He put his elbows on the wooden table and made a pyramid with his fingers. “So, what do I owe this to?”  
   
 “Nothing.” Haruka turned and put two plates down. Sunny-side up eggs, fish cakes, a bowl of fruits on each plate, and soon Haruka brought two mugs of steaming coffee. “It’s mackerel. The fish cakes.”  
   
 Makoto’s eyes lit up. “Wow… I don’t even know what to say.”  
   
 “Just eat.”  
   
 “In a sec, I gotta feed the—” He was cut off by the sound of a meow and turned to the side. “Wow, you fed the kitties too?”  
   
 “Mm. Yeah… I gave them mackerel too. Canned… I did some research, canned fish isn’t a good idea for cats, not after the spill in twenty-forty… But I found one that was organic, and for cats… so I think that’s okay, for a treat.” Haruka took a seat. “Mixed it with other cat food too.”  
   
 Makoto’s smile went from ear to ear. “That’s amazing.” He used a fork to break into the fish cake and then he took a bite. “Mmm!” He grinned. “The food’s amazing too, oh my gosh!”  
   
 Haruka’s smile was a little shy, shaky. “I’m… glad.”  
   
  “So, what’s the occasion? You don’t have work?”  
   
 “Already had work,” Haruka admitted. “Meeting in European time zone, so I’ve got the rest of the day off. I tried to sleep for a while, but… Wanted to do something for you.”  
   
 “You’re sweet.”  
   
 “Whatever.” Haruka busied himself with food.  
   
 Makoto laughed. “So how are things at work, anyway?”  
   
 “Mm, the Czech origin house, Kouzelnictví, and The Eye has agreed on terms. We will cooperate in mutual benefit. The festival’s still on. Kou’s training is continuing. Distortion levels are falling.”  
   
 Makoto sipped his coffee slowly, eyeing Haruka, before putting his mug down. “They are?”  
   
 “I’m…” Haruka looked away. “Uneasy about it.”  
   
 “Because of Seijuro Mikoshiba?”  
   
 “He’s no longer with his keeper, Kisumi Shigino, but he’s remained dormant since his psychic battle with Kou… The worsening state of the White Chrysalis is believed to be the cause of distortions…”  
   
 “Then…” Makoto swallowed hard. “Either without his keeper, he’s found some way to become stable… found some kind of sanctuary, or a solace? Theoretically anyway. The second possibility is the White Chrysalis was creating distortions because Seijuro himself was inside a distortion.”  
   
 Haruka nodded slowly. “Spot on.”  
   
 “Which means, hypothetically, Seijuro could rise up at any time and we won’t have any indication.”  
   
 “But… he hasn’t.”  
   
 “Right, so we’re… safe, ish.”  
   
 “For now.”  
   
 “Well…” Makoto paled. “What if Kou sent Seijuro to the bottom of the ocean? Or in space?”  
   
 “No we…” Haruka’s eyes narrowed. “I got word this morning we found the area he was sent. Seijuro appeared in the Amazon rainforest.”  
   
 “Oh!” Makoto raised his head. “So that’s what that was on the news? The flash fire that lasted a couple hours? It was all over the web since it’s almost the five year anniversary of the Amazon being restored, right?”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “He’s walking reality.”  
   
 “Well… if he starts trouble, or if anyone finds him, then we’ll have to do something about it later. For now, at least, we have a calm.”  
   
 “Hm. We’ll have to make the most of it… We don’t know how or when Seijuro will rise again… if he ever does. But we’ll have to live with that uncertainty.”  
   
 “I’ll keep researching.” Makoto tossed a grape in his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he tilted his head. “What else is new?”  
   
 “Momo’s fully recovered,” Haruka said with a breath of relief. “I’ve managed to get him until mid-January to rest before he has to go back to his classes. Bad timing with his finals.”  
   
 “Mid-Jan.” Makoto whistled. “How’d you manage that?”  
   
 “I’m influential.” Haruka smiled. “A lot of witches are on the international online school board, some in high places. With Momo’s disability and using favours, I managed to get him as much time as I could.”  
   
 “Used your whole arsenal, huh?”  
   
 “Hm. Yeah.” Haruka looked away. “How is he? I only know his medical profile…”  
   
 “He’s…” Makoto shook his head. “Mostly… the same. Not doing so great. I’m glad he’s got all the cats; apparently he’s spending most of his time with them. Better with them than no one, right?”  
   
 “Right… I was hoping we could get him to go to the nexus reversal festival…” Haruka forced a smile. “I don’t think he’s seen all the ley-lines shift before.”  
   
 “Yeah.” Makoto smiled. “Even if it’s just for a day, I bet he’ll be happy… Oh, speaking of, don’t forget…”  
   
 “Dinner with your parents tonight,” Haruka said with a smile. “I know.”  
   
 “And we’re heading to the shrine right after.”  
   
 Haruka nodded. “Nagisa says the snow’s melting there.”  
   
 “Well… I’m pretty sure Rin’s just getting tired of it. A lot of the lanterns had a lot more fire than they should have.”  
   
 “Heat auras?” Haruka snorted. “Sounds like him.”  
   
 “So, what do you want to do today?”  
   
 “I… have an idea.” Haruka looked away. “Do you want to… move, maybe?”  
   
 “Move? From here?”  
   
 “Not, not move. But we’re rich, we could have two houses…” Haruka looked at him. “Even with portals, we’re just, very disconnected from everyone. Might be nicer to have a place near your parents, or the shrine. Somewhere we’d be surrounded by other people.”  
   
 “Sure!” Makoto laughed. “Have you already looked at some houses?”  
   
 “Online,” Haruka admitted. “I found a couple I think you’d like, but we’ll see.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 The two of them walked side-by-side. Haruka was happy to have the mantle of the Iris off his shoulders, replaced instead with one of Makoto’s hoodies and a green scarf. It may have had cat fur all over it, but it was warm and smelled like Makoto. He looked around the street they were walking.  
   
 “It’s a nice part of town,” said Makoto.  
   
 Haruka nodded. “Quiet.”  
   
 Makoto looked up to the sky. “Hey, Haru… Do you, ever think about like, what you want out of life?”  
   
 Haruka looked at him.  
   
 “I just, I mean like… We got together when we were pretty much teenagers… Okay we were like twenty, but it felt like we were kids? I don’t know. I just, I didn’t feel like an adult then. Young adult? So, now I do kinda feel like an adult. We had dreams, but they were all focused on the war and the Chrysalis rising right after… A lot of the people we went to school with are married, have kids, you know?”  
   
 Haruka’s feet slowed down before they came to a halt. “Kids?”  
   
 “Well, uh, ah, um.” Makoto laughed and turned around, scratching the back of his head. “Not necessarily kids, it’s just… I don’t know, now’s when we should be looking forward to something else, right? Would you… want kids?”  
   
 “I don’t know,” Haruka admitted. He looked down. “Maybe. I don’t think now would be the best time.”  
   
 “Me neither,” he agreed. “But for the future, any ideas?”  
   
 “Would we adopt?” Haruka tilted his head. “I don’t know anything about parenting…”  
   
 “Adopt yeah, but uh… I guess, well, we’ll have time, right? I don’t know anything about being a dad either.”  
   
 “Hm.” Haruka looked up and smiled. “You’d make a great dad.”  
   
 Makoto laughed. “You would be better.”  
   
 “Mm…” Haruka frowned. “Me?”  
   
 “Yeah.” Makoto nodded. “You just have… something. I think you’d be great.”  
   
 “I never thought…” Haruka hugged his arm. “I. I want to start a new life. With you.”  
   
 “I do too. I… I want to start a new life with you now, and if we decide to adopt then we’ll be starting a new life and a new family together then, and when our kid grows up and moves out, we’ll start a new life together again, and again. I… that’s kind of… what I want.”  
   
 “Hm. Then I guess we should get married.”  
   
 Makoto blinked, cheeks going from zero to sixty in terms of redness.  
   
 Haruka stared. “If that’s… okay?”  
   
 “Yes!” Makoto bounced. “Yes, it is!”  
   
 “Okay.”  
   
 Makoto pulled him into a hug and laughed, nuzzling his cheek.  
   
 Haruka smiled and put his arms around Makoto too.  
   
 “I love you.”  
   
 “I love you too.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “Onii-chan!”  
   
 “Oof! You are way too heavy now.”  
   
 “Hey!” Ran dropped to the floor, glaring. “Don’t tell a sixteen year old girl she’s heavy!”  
   
 “You’re only fifteen.”  
   
 “Fifteen and eleven months!”  
   
 Ren, who stood a few steps away in the entrance of their home, smiled wide. “Haru!”  
   
 Haruka dipped his head in greeting and made no complaints as the two twins pulled him into hugs. He chuckled softly and hugged them back.  
   
 “Makoto? Haru!” His mom stepped out of the kitchen. “Oh baby you’re here!”  
   
 “Sorry.” Makoto dipped his head. “We’re a little early.”  
   
 “Don’t apologise! Come in, come in; you have great timing, the food’s done!”  
   
 After Makoto’s mom and dad and two siblings had their share of hugs with both of them, they sat down at the kitchen table as they served the famous Tachibana curry.  
   
 “So.” Makoto’s dad smile. “How are things?”  
   
 Haruka just nodded.  
   
 “Good,” Makoto said in a laugh. “We have some news, actually!”  
   
 Haruka blinked. “We do?”  
   
 “We do.” Makoto laughed again. “We’re going to get married.”  
   
 “Oh.” Haruka smiled. “Right.”  
   
 “About time!” his dad yelled.  
   
 “Oh Haru!” His mom practically danced in her chair. “That’s wonderful!”  
   
 While his sister seemed elated, Ren just blinked. He looked at Haru and tilted his head. “You’re very quiet Haru.”  
   
 Haruka blinked and the laughter faded. “I’m happy.”  
   
 “But not as happy as Makoto…”  
   
 “I’m just… not… It’s not a surprise?” Haruka shrugged. “I… always figured I’d marry Makoto.”  
   
 Makoto blushed. “Haru…”  
   
 Both of his parents laughed and the twins snickered.  
   
 Haruka graced them with one of his rare smiles. “I heard you two got high marks on your exams.”  
   
 “Ninety-two!” Ran shouted.  
   
 Makoto whistled. “I got seventy-three when I was your age…”  
   
 Haruka chose not to overshadow everyone with his past marks; instead, he glanced to Ren. “And you?”  
   
 “Also ninety-two.” He smiled proudly. “We got the same mark, but we scored totally differently. I got a hundred percent in control.”  
   
 “I barely passed that,” Ran admitted. “I totally failed and the barrier broke but I just pretended I meant to do that on purpose!”  
   
 Haruka snorted.  
   
 Makoto smacked a hand over his face. “And these two are going on a squad soon…”  
   
 Ran leaned over. “Haru-onii-chan, please give us tough missions!”  
   
 “Ran,” Makoto’s mom interrupted. “Haru doesn’t deal with that stuff.”  
   
 “But!”  
   
 Haruka shook his head. “I don’t make the rules.”  
   
 “You’re the Iris! You make all the rules!”  
   
 “I don’t make the rules.”  
   
 Makoto laughed.  
   
 Makoto’s dad raised his glass. “Well, let’s have a toast. To Haru, who has always been one of ours, but you’re officially marrying into the family now!”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 As they walked through the portal and appeared on the other side, Makoto stopped. Haruka turned to him. Makoto looked up to the torii, the red archways of the Shinto shrine, and then glanced to Haruka. “Are you okay? You just seem… off.”  
   
 “Thinking,” Haruka admitted. “Just… part of the family… My, my parents weren’t… they weren’t good parents, but I still found family… in your parents, in Nagisa, in our squad, in the Mahō. In you.”  
   
 Makoto smiled, feeling their fingers intertwine.  
   
 “Family is where you feel safe, and where you feel open… to be you.” Haruka looked him in the eye. “It’ll be a few years from now, but when we start our own family… it’ll be part of an extended family. Your parents, our squad, the Mahō… We’ll all be the family Nagisa made of us.”  
   
 Makoto grinned. “I can only imagine Nagisa’s face when we tell him.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Nagisa smacked his hands on the low table, eyes wide. “I’m going to be!” he made no attempt to use his inside voice, “Auntie Nagisa!”  
   
 Makoto looked at Haru. “Wouldn’t that be uncle…?”  
   
 “I’m!” Nagisa shot up. “I’m gonna be an auntie! Not a girl auntie, like a gay auntie, you know?”  
   
 “No,” Rin sneered. “But you can be whatever you want to be, Pumpkin. Still, it ain’t for a few years. Sheesh. Calm your dumb butt down.”  
   
 Sousuke crossed his arms. “Are you two sure about this?”  
   
 “Well…” Haruka looked at Makoto to see Makoto looking right back at him. He turned back to Sousuke. “No. We won’t be making any final decisions anytime soon. It would be best to do after I handle over the title of Iris. We’ll both be able to retire early with my paycheck, and hopefully we can give our kid or kids as much time as we can.”  
   
 “A formidable plan, open to the variance of life.” Rei nodded sagely. “You are more than welcome to lean on us if you need anything.”  
   
 “Oh my God!” Nagisa dropped down. “I’m going to _spoil_ that motherfucker!”  
   
 “Nagisa!” shouted Gou.  
   
 “Well.” Nitori smiled, trying to hide his laugh. “I’m happy for you guys.”  
   
 Haruka nodded as well, in thanks, while Makoto smiled. But, after a while, Haruka looked around. “Where’s Momotarou?”  
   
 Nobody replied right away.  
   
 “He…” Rei sighed after some time. “Hasn’t quite been the same since Seijuro, as you know. No real progress on that.”  
   
 “Yeah…” Nagisa pouted. “Nothing I do… makes him smile anymore.”  
   
 Makoto’s eyes softened. “Anything we can do to help?”  
   
 “You’ve done more than enough with his schooling.” Sousuke sighed. “Now, I just… Not really. He just needs time. I think, anyway.”  
   
 “I agree,” Nitori admitted. “That’s the kind of person he is. He’ll bounce back…”  
   
 “Hell,” Rin muttered. “Anyone would need time after that.”  
   
 Gou put her hands in her lap. “But he’s always alone all the time…”  
   
 Sousuke stood up. “I’ll go check on him.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 “Haru.”  
   
 Haruka was walking down the hall when he paused, looking over his shoulder. “No ‘-chan’ this time?”  
   
 Nagisa shook his head. “What’s a Chrysalis?”  
   
 Haruka turned his body slowly.  
   
 “I always thought they were the big monsters, you know? The egg thingy would form and then they would burst—boom!—the liquid would pool into a shape and features would define themselves by absorbing their corresponding emotion… But, you and I…” Nagisa put his hands together. “We are Chrysalises. Aren’t we?”  
   
 Haruka closed his eyes and nodded.  
   
 “Then… what is a Chrysalis?”  
   
 “I… don’t know, Nagisa.”  
   
 “You know.” Nagisa put a hand to his heart. “There’s a door… deep inside me. It has all the answers. When I think about this door, I feel like I stand in front of it. It’s huge, as big as I can see. I know the answers are on the other side, but…”  
   
 Haruka tilted his head.  
   
 “I have this memory of me, Rin-chan, Ai-chan, and Captain-chan… we all closed it together.” Nagisa squeezed his shirt. “There must have been a reason we did that.”  
   
 “There was.”  
   
 “Mhm, I figured you knew something. But, Haru.” Nagisa’s eyes softened as he made eye-contact. “If Sei-chan, and other people, if they depend on the information locked within me… Am I selfish, for keeping it inside?”  
   
 Haruka took a step forward. He cupped Nagisa’s face and then kissed his forehead.  
   
 Nagisa’s eyes widened.  
   
 “Don’t burden yourself with guilt that isn’t yours. No.” He let go of his face. “We’ll unravel the tale another way.” He turned and looked over his shoulder. “That’s not a sacrifice we’ll ever make.”  
   
 Nagisa watched Haru walk away and he frowned. “Haru-chan! Are you… sure?”  
   
 “Yes.” Haruka looked over his shoulder again. “The Sorrow Gale will never be opened again. I promised your grandmother: I will protect you.”  
   
 “But—!”  
   
 “No.” Haruka shook his head. “That’s what family does.”  
   
 Nagisa’s mouth closed slowly and he nodded.  
   
 Makoto stepped into the hall. “Haru?”  
   
 Haruka walked over and kissed Makoto’s cheek before slipping away.  
   
 Makoto blinked. “What was that?”  
   
 “He’s…” Nagisa leaned on one foot, put both hands behind his back, and tilted his head. “He’s kinda different now… warmer.”  
   
 “No.” Makoto shook his head. “This is who he’s always been… he’s just, finally able to show it now.”  
   
   
 ~ ~ ~  
   
   
 Momotarou sat on the steps, looking at the torii. He knew Makoto and Haruka were here but he didn’t want to see them. He didn’t want to see anyone. He had even sent the cats off. He wanted to be alone, damnit. Was that so weird? He brought his knees up and hugged them tight. He looked down the steps and closed his eyes. Why? He didn’t even know what he was sad about, but it just felt like it never left. A hand over his heart, everywhere he went, squeezing him every so often.  
   
 Footsteps.  
   
 He glanced over his shoulder.  
   
 Sousuke stared at him, usual smile gone. “Hey.”  
   
 Momotarou eyed him. “Hey.”  
   
 “Try to be alive for a bit, would you?”  
   
 Momotarou closed his eyes. “Shut up…”  
   
 “You’re not achieving anything by moping.”  
   
 “I know,” he muttered. “But it’s not like I can do anything about it…”  
   
 “Why not?”  
   
 “I’m…” Momotarou cringed. “Weak. Haru is going to deal with Sei, but they won’t ask me… they won’t ask a weak witch.”  
   
 “You’ve got a lot of potential for a kid your age,” Sousuke pointed out. “You pack one hell of a punch. Not many would have stayed alive in that last battle… But, yeah. You’re pretty weak. You’ve got no experience like the rest of us do. But if that’s the only thing in your way, do something about it.”  
   
 “I can’t.”  
   
 “You can.”  
   
 Momo’s eyes slowly looked up.  
   
 “The distortions are going down.” Sousuke sat next to him. “That’s why they asked me back in the first place. That means I’ll be off work, permanently, again. I’ll stay here… train you.”  
   
 Momotarou’s eyes widened and he lifted his head. “Y-You… You would do that? For me?”  
   
 “Seijuro…” Sousuke closed his eyes. “I saw him, when I was in Nagisa’s mind, corrupted as a Chrysalis. You’ve got the potential and you’ve got the right attitude. You make good judgement calls, even if you don’t know how to follow through with them. I’ll make you into one hell of a combat witch. Then… you, me, we’ll track Seijuro down; we’ll find out the truth behind the Chrysalises. We’ll find the answers.”  
   
 “But.” Momotarou stared at him. “What if I don’t like his answers?”  
   
 “Punch him in the face.”  
   
 “And if I do like his answers?”  
   
 “You’ll decide from there. He’s your brother, so it’s your choice… not mine. Not Haru’s. Not The Eye’s.”  
   
 “I… want to know the truth.” Momotarou hugged his knees and looked down. “What is the White Chrysalis? Black Chrysalis? The… ‘Original Chrysalis’, what, what is that anyway?”  
   
 “I have no fucking clue.”  
   
 “So, so, so…” Momotarou’s eyes lit up. “You’ll do it. You’ll start an investigation with me?”  
   
 “Yeah, but… It’ll have to be just us. If Haru catches on to what we’re doing, he’ll put a stop to it.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Same with Rin, and Rei. With everyone else.” He looked again to Momotarou. “We’ll be going behind everyone’s back. Are you really up for that?”  
   
 Momotarou looked away. “So…”  
   
 “It’ll just be you and me.” Sousuke examined his face. “This isn’t over.”  
   
 “Not by a long shot…” Momo looked up to the sky, eyes starting to shimmer with tears. Something, something filled him, filled his core with an unexplainable burst of energy that could only be described as ‘Momotarou Mikoshiba’. A huge grin formed on his face and he latched on to Sousuke’s arm. “I’m in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. You can either subscribe to me or the Chrysalis Series page if you want to know when the next installment comes out.


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